Saints defensive end Mitchell Loewen leapt into action Sunday afternoon, helping save a man trapped in a car after it fell from the fourth floor of a New Orleans parking garage, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
“People were screaming, it sounded like a bomb or an earthquake or something,” Loewen recalled Monday. “There were a bunch of people standing around but not approaching the car, and I was like, ‘What’s up, let’s help this guy.'”
Out to brunch with his wife and 2-year-old son when the incident occurred, Loewen, 25, knew it was a “life or death” situation seeing the Mercedes Benz SUV lying upside down.
“I mean, obviously there was someone in there, I wasn’t going to stand by and watch,” the lineman said.
With the driver’s legs said to be pinned down by the car, Loewen knew he couldn’t save the man’s life alone.
“There was no way I could have dragged him out of that, so I called for people to come help and about 10 of us flipped the car onto its side,” Loewen said.
Loewen recounted how another good Samaritan made their way inside the vehicle by crawling through and opening the back-passenger door from inside. With the driver still conscious, Loewen ripped the door off its hinges from the outside to speak with him.
“He didn’t say much, he was just thanking us all. I hugged him and told him he was going to be OK, and then I prayed with him,” Loewen said. “I couldn’t tell how bad his injuries were, but there was a lot of blood and broken glass.”
The driver, whose name has not been released, was taken to a local hospital. New Orleans police said the crash is still under investigation and the individual is expected to survive.
As for Loewen, he is still coming to grips with the “life-changing experience,” praying the driver has a speedy recovery. He hopes to meet him one day, too.
“It was like a movie. I just did what I had to do, and I wasn’t think about anything else.” Loewen said.
Loewen, who played in college at Arkansas, signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in May 2016 and appeared in two games last year.
