“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.”
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.”
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.”
Philip Michael George
September 15, 2015 at 4:26 pm
Here comes the UK cop to tell us how disgraceful this was.
Joe Baldjian
September 15, 2015 at 4:31 pm
And don’t forget cowardly too..lol
Robert Lee
September 15, 2015 at 4:43 pm
That’s why I always have mine in my pocket an a benchmade seatbelt cutter in my car
Hans John Addicks
September 15, 2015 at 8:11 pm
Good job officer
Dan Bouchard
September 15, 2015 at 9:52 pm
Probably a CRKT.
J Wayne Dobkin
September 15, 2015 at 11:04 pm
Tina, another example of knives saving lives for your friend who can’t quite wrap her head around the fact that sometimes things just need cut. Lol
James Gilmartin
September 15, 2015 at 11:58 pm
I carry a good multi tool as a work knife and I carry a large folder as a defense knife, and I believe that everyone should carry a knife at least, especially if your not carrying a gun, its both a great tool and could save your life
James Gilmartin
September 16, 2015 at 12:01 am
Columbia river knife and tool C.R.K.T. they make knives from tactical use, to everyday tools for the working man, great company with high quality steels, and fair prices
Huckleberry Gudnason
September 16, 2015 at 12:10 am
There is a youtube video of a motorcycle guy doing the same for a lady. Good stuff.
Tina Black
September 16, 2015 at 3:29 am
So true…I actually need more
John Thornton
September 16, 2015 at 5:32 am
I carry a Gerber Crisis and a Gerber multi tool at work. I’m testing the Gerber Vital Skinner for rescue as well! It’s showing promising results for cutting seat belts, clothes and bandages.
Michael Waki
September 16, 2015 at 5:58 am
Publicity stunt by desperate for attention mother. She probably trapped the baby in the wreck and lit it on fire herself then screamed for help betting that someone will probably be there to help in time because she knew it would become a news story.
Lucky for her that someone’s was an off-duty cop and not Helen Keller.
But she was probably also betting that it wouldn’t be Helen Keller to come driving down the roast next.