This week, John Buck is more than just the name of a Miami Marlins catcher. The Marlins may be popping up in headlines all over the country for the way they are throwing money around this offseason, but it is Buck who deserves the spotlight after what he went through last week.
Buck and his wife were driving through their neighborhood on Thursday when he noticed a tree shaking violently and wondered if someone was doing landscape work. As it turns out, the tree had been hit by a car that had rolled over. The Palm Beach Post caught up with Buck and he shared the story:
‘I pulled out of the entrance (of his neighborhood) and I saw this car upside down and smoking. I kind of saw a hand pulling at the window,” he said. I looked at my wife and my wife’s like, ‘Go help! Just go!”
Buck ran to the overturned car and went to work with two other Good Samaritans. Buck and a bus driver who stopped to give assistance were able to help the car’s driver crawl out of a window of the upside-down car. Buck and another man pulled the passenger out. Buck also called 911, but at the scene he said. “I didn’t do a whole lot of talking — everybody was speaking Spanish around me.”
It didn’t take long for police and paramedics to arrive. Buck said the injuries to the two elderly women did not look life-threatening. He said he thinks the passenger might have suffered a broken leg; the driver didn’t appear to be physically hurt too much.
“It wasn’t that serious,” he said. “But the car upside down and the way it landed, the two older ladies were pretty lucky.”
Buck didn’t stick around too long – he was on his way to pick up his son from school.
“I pulled them out, then the police came, I gave my report and was like, ‘Guess my job’s over.’ So I took off.”
This is one of those situations where you hope anyone would do the same, but that doesn’t mean he deserves any less credit. Like the heroes in all of our other life saver stories, Buck is certainly deserving of some recognition and a pat on the back. Bravo.
H/T to Hardball Talk for passing the story along.
