Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey was involved in the rescue of a 72-year-old man in Colorado on Sunday. The details of the story were reported by Panthers writer Max Henson.
Christian McCaffrey and his brothers were at the right place at the right time to help a man who had suffered a horrific fall during a hike in Colorado.
McCaffrey: “I had never seen anything quite like that in my life as far as the trauma and the sound.” https://t.co/MTwZQBV8B1
— Max Henson (@PanthersMax) March 6, 2018
.@run__cmc‘s hike turns into a rescue mission https://t.co/HcMPiJTvtE
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) March 6, 2018
McCaffrey, along with his brothers Dylan and Max and friends Michael Mann and Brooke Pettet, decided to go hike Castle Rock in Colorado. Eli Smoker, 13, and his grandfather were hiking the trail as well. When McCaffrey’s group reached were Eli was, they witnessed the grandfather tumble 20 feet on to some rocks.
McCaffrey talked about what happened next:
“It felt like he was in the air for 10 seconds. I had never seen anything quite like that in my life as far as the trauma and the sound. We were in shock… Everybody stepped up. I called 9-1-1, and it felt like an eternity. It felt like we were up there waiting for four hours. But I looked back at my call log and it took 11 minutes before the paramedics came. Amazing what those guys did.”
The grandfather was rushed to the hospital, doctors found a litany of injuries: a broken femur, a broken pelvis, internal bleeding, bleeding on the brain, nine fractured ribs, and a broken neck. Somehow, he survived his injuries.
McCaffrey says that he continues to text Eli, whom McCaffrey hopes to have a lifelong relationship with, and that he is happy the grandfather is alive.
“It’s such a … I don’t know what you’d call it. Truly a blessing that we turned the corner at that exact moment and we could be there for him.
Eli’s father Dan, who was in San Diego celebrating his 15th wedding anniversary when the incident occurred, posted a heartwarming message on Twitter, thanking the men for saving his father and comforting his son.
Michael Mann, @run__cmc and @notoriousmax25 are great football players, but even better humans. Yesterday, they helped save my dads life after he fell off of Castle Rock. They comforted my son when he was alone. Then showed up at the hospital to check in. @AdamSchefter @espn pic.twitter.com/MVAdbr2gYV
— Dan Smoker (@dsmokexu) March 4, 2018
