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Off duty cop uses pocket knife to free baby from burning wreckage

September 15, 2015

“We’d have a loss of life because the truck was burning,” Darrell Ehmke told Tennessee’s WKRN Channel 2. The truck had crashed in front of Ehmke’s home and the senior citizen was trying to flag down passers-by who could lend assistance. “I wanted to stop anyone who could help”.

At approximately 10pm on Thursday, Deputy Mike Adcox of the Humphryes County Sheriff’s Office was on his way home when he spotted Ehmke and the burning truck. When Deputy Adcox arrived on the scene he noticed a man had been thrown from the vehicle and discovered that there was a baby still inside the burning wreckage.

“Get the baby out .. that’s all I could think about,” said Deputy Adcox. “The way he was wedged in there I couldn’t get his legs out”. Deputy Adcox used his pocket knife to cut the straps of the baby seat and “just yanked him as hard as I could.”

Knife Used to Save Baby

The baby’s mother told WKRN: “To Deputy Adcox, I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart”. Sheriff Chris Davis also offered praise: “It’s heroic. You don’t get out of a car every day and look at going into facing a car that’s up in flames.”

Baby Freed by Pocket Knife

The baby suffered a partially collapsed lung, broken arm, and laceration across the liver. He also had a skull injury but is expected to be discharged from the Hospital today. The driver of the pick-up – the baby’s mother’s fiancée, is recovering from serious injuries. Doctors say it could take more than 3 months before he can walk again.

The story is one more example of how good people carrying knives have made a difference in the last year:

Portland, Maine: Man saves baby trapped in sunken SUV

Piggott, Arkansas: Man cut seat belt with Case pocket knife to save woman from drowning

Geauga County, Ohio: 15-year-old helps rescue one as car drives off boat ramp

Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts: Resident Cuts Woman’s Skirt Stuck in Moving Escalator

Santa Barbara, California: Bystander with Blade Thwarts Car Jacking

“Most people think about carrying knives as a tool for everyday use such as opening boxes, slicing rope, or cutting an apple.” said KnivesShipFree‘s Derrick Bohn who recently posted a story on his blog entitled ‘3 Good Reasons to Always Carry a Knife‘. “These stories are a reminder of how important it is to carry a knife in case of a crisis situation – it could mean the difference between life and death for someone in need of help.”

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