Saints' Loewen helps save man from SUV accident
Saints defensive lineman Mitchell Loewen was one of several bystanders to help save a man from an SUV accident in New Orleans on Sunday.
Loewen told multiple media outlets he was having brunch with his wife when the Mercedes Benz SUV crashed down from the fourth story of a parking structure. The 25-year-old sprung into action to lead the charge in helping at the scene as the man was pinned and screaming in the vehicle.
"There were a bunch of people standing around, but not approaching the car and I was like 'What's up, let's help this guy,'" Loewen told NOLA.com on Monday. "I mean, obviously there was someone in there, I wasn't going to just stand by and watch. It was a life or death situation."
Loewen and the other rescuers couldn't pull the man out, so they flipped the SUV onto its side and back to its tires before Loewen pried the door open to speak to the man.
Emergency workers arrived to the scene to remove the man from the vehicle, and the New Orleans Police Department said in a statement the victim is expected to survive.
In all, Loewen said the incident lasted a couple minutes but left a lasting effect on him.
"It was life-changing, man," Loewen told ESPN.
"I'd say giving life, saving life, taking life or risking life are about the only time your heart's gonna beat like that. There's not many things that can do for you ... Just the feeling you get after something like that, I mean, I felt like I was in a movie. At the time, I had extreme confidence. I had no hesitation at all about what needed to be done. And it was just that kind of feeling and the adrenaline pumping. I mean, that's life to the fullest right there. I felt like I was being led by God to go help that man."
Loewen was also sure to mention the others that helped him.
"It was unreal that I was there at that moment to help out and to lead others to help out as well -- and others being willing to help out -- because I definitely couldn't have done that by myself. That was no act of solely me," Loewen told ESPN. "That was a lot of grown men working together for one purpose: to save one man that no one knew at the moment. We had no interest in this man's life except to save it."
The NOPD confirmed the SUV drove off the fourth floor of the parking structure around 1:30 p.m., and an investigation into the accident is ongoing.
Loewen signed with the Saints after going undrafted out of Arkansas in 2016.
--Field Level Media
