A former NFL player, and Idaho native, is reflecting about his decision to jump into action to rescue a driver whose semi-truck was hit by a train in St. Anthony.
36-year-old South Fremont High School graduate Brandon Bair played in the NFL before retiring in 2016. He now lives in St. Anthony with his wife and four daughters and is the general manager of Henry’s Fork Homes.
He was driving to his business when he saw a train crash into a semi-truck along U.S. Highway 20 near St. Anthony, causing an explosion. He immediately called 911 and began driving toward the scene. Once there, he realized he needed to get the driver out of the truck fast. He was able to break the steering wheel, which was pinning the driver down, and pull him out of the cab.
“The crazy part is the moment we came off those railroad tracks it wasn’t even maybe two seconds and the whole inside of that cab just went up in flames,” Bair said.
Because of Bair’s heroic efforts, the driver of the truck is alive today. Bair said, though, that he doesn’t give himself the credit.
“I feel like anybody would have done that if they were there. I just happened to be the guy on site and the Lord needed me at that moment to help that kid,” Bair said.
He wants people to know that the Lord provided a way for the driver to make it out of the wreck safely.