Christian McCaffrey Helps Man Who Fell While Hiking
Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is credited with saving a man's life after witnessing a man fall from a rock while hiking.
Last Saturday, McCaffrey was out hiking with family and friends in Castle Rock, Colorado, when he saw a man, identified as 72–year–old Dan Smoker Sr. fall about 20 feet onto a rock.
McCaffrey called 911 and helped Smoker until medical personnel could arrive.
"I credit them with saving my dad's life," Smoker's son, Dan Smoker, told Panthers.com on Tuesday.
Smoker Sr. suffered a broken femur, pelvis and neck, ribs and internal bleeding on the brain. He is in stable condition at a hospital.
"It felt like he was in the air for 10 seconds," McCaffrey told Panthers.com. "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," he continued. "I called 911, 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."
McCaffrey visited Smoker in the hospital after the accident and has stayed in touch with the family.
"Eli was such a trooper, man," McCaffrey said. "I was traumatized, and I had no relation."
