Vikings' KJ Osborn helped rescue man from burning car: 'Right place at the right time'

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When Minnesota Vikings wide receiver K.J. Osborn sat in his Uber in Austin, Texas, on Sunday night, he never thought he’d head home a hero. 

Osborn revealed on ESPN’s "The Adam Schefter Podcast" that he helped save a man from a burning car while on his ride home from a night out with friends on Sunday.

Osborn was in Austin training, and as his time there was coming to an end, he wanted to have a night out with his trainer, Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift and others before he moved on. But that fun night quickly turned into a dramatic scene when his Uber driver noticed a car crash that led to both of them springing to action to help the driver out of the burning vehicle. 

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Minnesota Vikings receiver K.J. Osborn takes photo with three others that helped him save man from burning vehicle in Austin, Texas on March 5, 2023. (@KJ_Osborn/Twitter)

"It’s a situation that I never imagined myself in a billion years," Osborn began to tell Schefter. "But I’m on my way home, I’m in the back of an Uber, and my head is down and I’m on my phone, just on my way home. My Uber driver just starts going crazy. He’s like, ‘Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!’ I look up, and I’m wondering what’s all the fuss about and there’s nobody on the street. He’s like, ‘This guy crashed,’ and I look to my right and there’s a car, if you were to picture it, under a bridge’s pillars. His car is head-on. He hit the pillar and his car is in flames."

"Initially, my Uber driver, who is also a hero – there was three other people there. All heroes. He got out the car, and he’s like, ‘We need to call 911, talk to 911.’ I’m like, ‘No, we got to go save this guy.’"

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Osborn said that himself, his Uber driver and another man and woman were present on the scene to help the man out of the car. Of course, Osborn was a bit reserved at first because it was a burning car – at any point, it could have exploded.

But instinct kicked in and everyone there began talking to the man, trying to get him to move to the passenger’s seat so they could drag him out.

Once he was out, Osborn lifted the man and they all moved away from the burning car.

A vehicle on fire following a car crash in Austin, Texas on March 5, 2023.  (@KJ_Osborn/Twitter)

"We got him out the car and that’s when I picked him up, and he’s bleeding all over my shirt and everything. I pick him up and carry him about 10, 15 yards because this way we’re away from the car a little bit. By then, the ambulance came. The firefighters got the flames to go down. The car was good. The police officers got his information and everything, and they came back and told us, ‘You saved that man’s life.’"

Osborn is currently studying at the University of Miami to get his master’s degree in criminal justice as he said he has plans to become a part of the FBI or Secret Service after his playing days. This situation was one he viewed as something that could be part of that job description down the road if he ever fully pursues it, which has since given him loads of perspective.

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"I didn’t think it would affect me too much. I thought I would just be able to go to sleep and be fine, but I couldn’t sleep."

Aftermath of a burning car that was in a wreck in Austin, Texas on March 5, 2023 (@KJ_Osborn/Twitter)

Osborn has since been in contact with the man he saved as well as those who helped the cause. He plans on going to the hospital to check up on him, adding that he sustained an ankle injury and was bleeding from his lip.

Very minor injuries considering the circumstances.

Osborn is still trying to process what happened Sunday night, including the fact that he missed his first Uber prior to getting in the one that led him into this situation. He doesn’t believe the man survives if he and the others aren’t there.

"I’m just grateful that I was in the position to be able to help him as well as the three other heroes to be there."

K.J. Osborn #17 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to a game against the New York Giants in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at U.S. Bank Stadium on January 15, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Images)

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"I was at the right place at the right time."