Patriots Linebacker Pulled Woman From Burning Car

Though it didn't land him on the inactive list for last Saturday's game against the Chiefs, Patriots linebacker Darius Fleming did need stitches after pulling a woman from her burning car.

Fleming kicked in a woman's car window to pull her from the burning vehicle last Thursday and wound up with 22 stitches in his right calf.

Fleming was on his way home from practice when a semi-truck stopped short trying to make a right turn and three cars collided behind it. Though the accident didn't look so bad at first, he did notice a woman whose car was filling with smoke.

The woman was trying to kick her own window out, but the Patriots linebacker says she was pretty small so he tried to break the window instead.

He told the Boston Globe that after trying his elbow, he ended up kicking the window out and pulling the woman from her car. When he knew she was alright, he says he looked at his own leg and "noticed it was bleeding pretty bad.”

When he told the press this story for the first time Wednesday, he noted that his teammates "were like, ‘Why didn’t you grab a brick?’” According to Fleming,

The smoke inside the car started to freak me out, so I couldn’t tell the lady, ‘I’ll be back.’ It was like, ‘Get her out of here right now.’ That’s what just came to my mind.”

Fleming did play both defense and special teams on Saturday, despite the stitches, and had two tackles in 26 total snaps.

He says he was surprised the stitches held through the game telling the press "I thought I’d rip a couple."