Army cadet rescues driver from burning car near West Point

Larry Pickett Jr., a sophomore safety for Army West Point, pulled a man from a burning car early Sunday morning after the vehicle struck a utility pole and caught fire on Route 9W in Fort Montgomery, about 3.8 miles from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Video of the rescue shows Pickett and his father dragging the driver from the wreckage as downed power lines sparked around the scene before firefighters arrived to extinguish the blaze.

Pickett, 20, was returning to campus from a family dinner in New York City when the family encountered the crash, his father said. The senior Pickett and his daughter recorded video of the rescue that was later shared widely online. In footage posted by his father, Pickett can be seen running toward the smoking vehicle and pulling the man from the driver seat with assistance from another person before carrying him across the street to safety while avoiding live wires.

"There was no discussion. My son just jumped right into action," Pickett Sr. told WTVD. In a Facebook post accompanying his daughter’s video, he wrote, "Just after Midnight, I watched in awe as my son, Larry Pickett Jr., ran toward a burning vehicle, ignoring the downed...