NFL player saves family from burning car

Jonathan “Tig” Willard is being lauded as a hero today after saving a family from a burning car. The former Clemson linebacker was headed to Tennessee Titans training camp when he noticed a car with black smoke pouring out.

Photo via Tig Willard

He immediately sped up to warn the driver. The woman behind the wheel was unaware her car was on fire.

Willard got up next to the car and noticed a female driver with three small children and a dog as passengers. He honked his horn and flashed his lights, finally getting the drivers’ attention and getting her to pull over.

“When she pulled over, the car was really on fire at that point,” Willard said. “The driver, she acted like she was in some kind of daze or something. She told me that she didn’t stop because she didn’t think it was her car that was on fire. Another guy stopped, and we managed to get the kids and the dog out and get them to safety, and then I finally got the woman out.”

Hero. On the same day of the Aaron Hernandez fiasco, it’s nice to hear something like this. Willard will have to get lucky to make the Titans roster—he came in as an undrafted free agent. I, for one, am rooting for him.

(via SportsCenter)