Homeless Navy veteran rescues driver after Pembroke Pines crash

Travis Wilson's military instinct kicked in, says he felt compelled to help

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. ā€“ A homeless man, who said he is a Navy veteran, helped rescue a driver afterĀ a crash Thursday afternoon in Pembroke Pines.

Travis Wilson said he was a U.S. Navy corpsman, serving in the early 1990s. When he heard the crash about rush hour, he said his military instinct kicked in and felt was compelled to help.

According to Pembroke Pines police, the driver of a white Chevrolet Cavalier attempted to turn at the intersection in the 200 block of Douglas Road when it collided with a Dodge Charger.

The driver of the Charger is an off-duty Florida Department of Law Enforcement officer, the agency confirmed to Local 10 News.

Wilson was applying for housing with an organization called Operation Sacred Trust.

As he was interviewing in a pavilion outside the organization's office, he heard a loud bang.

"In a split second, he said, 'I think, you know, somebody may need help,'" Seth Eisenberg, with Operation Sacred Trust, said.

Wilson ran to the scene, about a block away.

"I just turned it on and go sprinting to the vehicle," WIlson said.

Cellphone video captured Wilson reaching into the white ChevroletĀ and stabilizing the driver's head.

"It's like putting a neck collar on them to stop them from moving their neck," Wilson said. "This is instinct."

"If we're going to die, we're going to die together," Travis Wilson told Local 10 News.

Wilson stayed at the scene until paramedics arrived.

"I can't leave the scene. It doesn't matter if that vehicle catches on fire. It doesn't matter. I'm there with him," Wilson said. "If we're going to die, we're going to die together."

Police said the driver was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital withĀ life-threatening injuries.

The FDLE officer sufferedĀ minor injuries.


About the Authors
Janine Stanwood headshot

Janine Stanwood joined Local 10 News in February 2004 as an assignment editor. She is now a general assignment reporter. Before moving to South Florida from her Washington home, Janine was the senior legislative correspondent for a United States senator on Capitol Hill.

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