Rob Reynolds of Arvada, Colorado, once entertained the possibility of becoming a first responder. But instead of becoming a firefighter, he ended up deciding to dedicate his life to helping people in a different way.
“Went to EMT school and then… I just sort of felt compelled to become a therapist,” he said, according to KMGH-TV.
But a strange pattern has emerged over the years, one that has perhaps made him wonder if he chose the right path. As of July 10, Reynolds has assisted people in three separate accidents, all accidents he witnessed and raced to help with.
“It happens once and you think, ‘Well, you know, we’re bound to experience an accident at some point,'” he said.
“Happens twice and it’s kind of like, ‘OK.'”
“A third time is kind of like, ‘Well, is this a theme in my life now?'”
The third time involved a woman who veered off the road after getting too close to the side and overcorrecting.
“I just noticed her on the right side of me,” Reynolds recalled. “She sort of started drifting towards the curb and kind of hit the curb and bounced.
[firefly_embed]
[/firefly_embed]
“I’m with the dispatcher and ran over, and I said, ‘Oh, my gosh, she’s in the canal. She’s upside down. We got to get … we got to get down there.'”
And he went down there, immediately, along with two other witnesses who sprang into action. In what Reynolds described as a miracle, he was able to find her and get her out of the flipped, sinking car right away.
[firefly_embed]
[/firefly_embed]
“Fortunately, kind of miraculously, I just sort of reached in the perfect, perfect position to pull her out,” he said.
“You can’t really see into the water. From the road, you can’t see. So if people hadn’t been there, myself included, it could have been … it could have been bad.”
[firefly_embed]
[/firefly_embed]
First responders praised Reynolds and the other two men for their actions, as they likely saved the woman’s life. According to a post by Reynold’s sister, he is now in the running for a life-saving award.
“Last night, my brother (in the bright blue) was driving down Kipling when this woman lost control of her car and rolled into a canal,” Michelle Reynolds Hill posted on July 11. “He was right behind her.
An Arvada man is being called a hero for helping to rescue a woman trapped in a submerged car.
Tonight at 6 on @DenverChannel, hear from the man in the bright shirt about why he had no hesitation when jumping into the water and why it’s not his first time helping someone out. pic.twitter.com/Mv0lenZtHS
— Pattrik Perez (@PattrikPerez) July 12, 2021
“He left his car in the middle of the street, called 911, and rushed into the waist-deep water to pull her out! She came out with just some minor cuts.
“The craziest part is that this is the 3rd major accident my brother has witnessed and been the rescuer. Rob Reynolds is being nominated by the Arvada Police Department, Colorado for the Arvada Lifesaver award.”
No matter what his future holds, one thing is true of Reynolds: He’s one of the helpers.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
