Congressman Derrick Van Orden, R-WI. came to the rescue this weekend after witnessing a horrific crash in Iowa that severely injured an 11-year-old child.
Van Orden was driving in Iowa with his wife when he saw a concerning car accident in his rearview mirror. Initially, he assumed the worst after watching a minivan get completely destroyed.
“I’m watching a Dodge Grand minivan disintegrate. It seemed to drift off the road at about 70 miles per hour, more so on the passenger side of the car. My wife, Sarah, was like, what happened? I looked at it, I said, someone just died,” he told the Washington Examiner.
Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL who has been on multiple combat tours, immediately jumped into action.
After rushing to the passenger side of the damaged vehicle, he saw a grisly scene involving an 11-year-old who was severely injured and had an arterial bleed in his right wrist. Van Orden was not the only person to offer assistance, as he relied on others to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
“By then, probably 10 people had also pulled over to help, I’m like, does somebody have a knife? And they’re like, yep. So I cut the seat belts off and then made tourniquets,” he explained.
While Van Orden was able to offer temporary assistance, he said that the help of others was crucial in preventing the 11-year-old from bleeding out. (RELATED: How Wisconsin’s New Maps Shifted Political Power — and Why Texas Is Next)
“It took about 10 to 15 minutes. He would’ve bled to death,” he said of the challenge of the first responders getting on site on the interstate that was in a remote rural area.
While the scene was horrific for all involved, the Wisconsin Congressman said others’ willingness to help was part of what he loves about America.
“What happened out there is everything that I love about America. So we’re in the middle of somewhere, and this happens, and people just start showing up. They start asking, ‘Hey, can we do this? Can we do that?” he explained.
Van Orden reportedly visited the 11-year-old boy in the hospital, but refused to name him.
The boy and his mother were airlifted to the hospital, according to an Iowa State Police Crash report. No fatalities were reported in connection to the car accident. (RELATED: Progressive Wisconsin Congressman Caught up in ‘Cyberstalking’ Allegations on X)
