Diamondbacks hero Luis Gonzalez was a hero of a different kind on Friday evening
Jun 3, 2017, 10:30 AM | Updated: 12:50 pm
PARADISE VALLEY — Luis Gonzalez is a hero to many Arizona sports fans but for a woman in Paradise Valley, he is a lifesaver.
Gonzalez was driving in Paradise Valley on Friday evening when he and a couple of friends came upon a car accident and quickly stepped into action.
“It was a pretty scary incident,” Gonzalez told Kevin McCabe on AzPrepsLive on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station. “I was following another car and I just saw the accident in front. There were a couple of buddies of mine in the car with me. I did what anybody would probably do. I stopped.”
Game winning hit in World Series was nothing compared to seeing @Luisgonzo20 pull a stranger from her car right after she was hit head on. pic.twitter.com/2OhTzdGBqY
— Artie (@artcuffari) June 3, 2017
According to Gonzalez, he and his two friends, Arti Cuffari and Mike Mehan were heading in the area of Lincoln near Scottsdale Road on their way to meet up with Gonzalez’s son Jacob for dinner when they witnessed the accident.
The two cars had collided head-on and one of the vehicles caught fire. As first responders were arriving at the scene, Gonzalez stepped into action.
“I was just trying to get her out as quickly as I can,” he said.
Gonzalez added that Mehan pulled the other man out of the car while Cuffari dialed 911 and another person.
“You never know how you are going to react to a situation like that and you just try and go into a mode to help get the lady out of the car,” Gonzalez said. “I was more concerned that the car next to her was going to blow up. It’s something that you don’t want to see.”
KTAR has reached out to Phoenix Fire for more information on the accident including injuries.
Gonzalez, who is known for his game-winning hit off of New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, was a guest of McCabe on the high school sports talk show on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station Saturday morning. He was on the show with his son Jacob, who is the highest ranked high school baseball player in Arizona. Jacob graduated from Scottsdale Chaparral High School this spring.
“I’m proud of him,” Gonzalez said of his son. “He’s worked hard to get to this situation and we are excited as a family to see what the future holds for him.”
