Larry Pickett Jr. was heading back to West Point with his family just after midnight when they came upon a wreck on Route 9W in Fort Montgomery, New York. A white sedan had slammed into a utility pole. Power lines were down. Sparks popped in the dark. Pickett, a second-year cadet and safety for Army football, ran toward the car with his father, Larry Sr.

In seconds, they unbuckled the driver, lifted him out, and carried him across the road. Moments later, the vehicle erupted in flames, a scene also captured on family video, as reported by ABC News and confirmed by the Fort Montgomery Fire Department’s account that the car became “fully engulfed.”

“There was no discussion. My son just jumped right into action,” Larry Sr. told ABC News.

Photo: Instagram / larrypickett

A car crashed into a utility pole near West Point just after midnight.

Seconds to Act, A Life to Save

The family had been returning from dinner in New York City after Army’s season opener. On the shoulder, a bystander hesitated, wary of the lines. Pickett didn’t. “We saw that there’s a car that crashed, somebody who needed our help and without thinking we just reacted,” he later told CBS News New York.

In video shared by the family, one person shouts, “Larry, come on, get him out,” as the Picketts haul the driver to safety and then wave off traffic because of the hazard.

The driver, disoriented but awake, told them he had not been drinking or taking medication.

“I was driving normally, all of a sudden boom, I’m here,” he said in the clip, according to NBC News. Fire officials later said the crash involved a utility pole and downed power lines; the man appeared to have only minor injuries.

Photo: Instagram / larrypickett

Larry Pickett Jr. and his father were driving home from dinner when they saw the wreck.

Values Made Real on a Dark Road

West Point praised the rescue. “Running towards danger to save lives is the embodiment of the Army Values and Warrior Ethos,” the academy said in a social media statement.

Army Athletic Director Tom Theodorakis added that the Picketts “exemplify the values we hold dear, stepping up in a moment of crisis to save a life,” a message highlighted by ESPN.

Head coach Jeff Monken praised the act as “courage, selflessness, and a willingness to put others before themselves,” noting that in that moment Pickett “didn’t think of himself,” comments reported by NBC News. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said the 20-year-old “embodies the highest values of the Army and West Point: duty, honor, country,” according to ESPN.

‘We Just Reacted’

Pickett is listed as a safety for the Black Knights and a second-year cadet from Raleigh, North Carolina. He had played in the opener against Tarleton State and was heading back to post when the family found the crash, ESPN reoprts.

“Honestly it wasn’t too much thinking that went in to it,” Pickett told ESPN. “We saw that there’s a car that crashed, somebody who needed our help… and went and helped as best as we could.”

Larry Sr. later wrote that he watched his son “run toward a burning vehicle, ignoring the downed power lines crackling around it,” and thanked God the driver “will live to see another day,” words he shared on social media.

After the Flames

Police and firefighters soon arrived. The driver, conscious and talking, was evaluated as the wreck burned. The fire department later verified that the car struck a pole and that fallen lines complicated the scene, USA TODAY reports.

Pickett called himself “just thankful,” adding, “That could have been really bad for him and his family.”

On a roadside a few miles from the academy, one family made a fast choice. Training helped. So did instinct. A driver is alive today because they moved first and talked later.