HICKMAN COUNTY, Tenn. – An 8-month-old baby was trapped in a burning pickup truck and saved by a Humphreys County deputy.
Mike Adcox was at the right place at the right time.
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“It’s the same route I take every day,” said Deputy Adcox as he was driving on Highway 70 in Dickson County.
Adcox is also a school resource officer for McEwen schools. He was off the clock on his way home from a high school bonfire last Thursday night around 10 p.m. when he saw Darrell Ehmke, who was flagging him down.
“I wanted to stop anyone who could help,” Ehmke told News 2.
A truck crashed feet from his home. He said he is glad Deputy Adcox was there.
Ehmke said if he wasn’t, “We’d have a loss of life because the truck was burning.”
According to the accident report with The Tennessee Highway Patrol, Bradley Heller somehow lost control of his pickup truck crashed it into a culvert.
It landed feet away and caught fire.
Heller was thrown from the truck and his baby Benton was trapped inside.
“Get the baby out, you know. That’s all I could think about,” said Deputy Adcox.
He called 911 and immediately tried to save the baby, who was pinned between his car seat and the back of the truck.
“It was really scary,” said Deputy Adcox. He used his pocket knife to cut the straps.
“The way he was wedged in there I couldn’t get his legs out,” said Deputy Adcox. “Finally I just grabbed him by his arm and just yanked him out as hard as I could.”
News 2 spoke with the baby’s mother, Kristin Hollis, who said her fiancé, Heller, has a long road to recovery. He has a collapsed lung, broken hip and femur, a punctured spleen, and facial fractures.
She said doctors told her it would be about three and a half months before he can get up and walk.
Hollis doesn’t know when he will be discharged from the hospital. He had surgery on his hip Monday and has another surgery scheduled for Wednesday on his face.
Hollis told News 2 her baby Benton has a partially collapsed lung, broken arm, and laceration across his liver. He also had a skull injury but is expected to be discharged Tuesday.
“It’s awesome the child is doing well and looking at coming home pretty soon that’s pretty exciting,” said Deputy Adcox.
In a statement, Hollis told News 2, “To Deputy Adcox, I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my boys. I can’t even put into words really how truly grateful I am, that even when your not on duty you put your life on the line to help others. You didn’t just help them, you saved their lives. You not only saved the love of my life but also my precious 8 month old son and I will forever be in your debt.”
“I just happened to be at the right spot at the right time. God’s hand, you know, he put me where he need me,” said Deputy Adcox.
The deputy is getting recognized by his sheriff, too.
“It’s heroic. You don’t get out of a car every day and look at going into facing a car that’s up in flames,” said Sheriff Chris Davis.
According to THP report, the cause of the accident is being investigated.
