A picture of the crash provided by Maine State Police.
“They come in handy, I guess. Monday night really proved it,” Moody said.
That’s a quote from a 44-year-old logger from Maine named Leo Moody describing pocket knives.
Not long ago, Moody was driving home from work when he saw an SUV flipped upside down in the water. He called 911 and rushed to the vehicle where one of the passengers said there was a baby trapped in the back seat.
As only a special type of person would do, Moody immediately swam through the cold water to the vehicle where he saw the 3-month-old stuck in the child seat.
At this point, the average person would be helpless and incapable of ripping a jammed seat belt with bare hands. Fortunately, Moody is not your average person. He pulled out a pocket knife and began cutting away.
Here’s more from the article on the incident:
Moody said it was cold and his hands were chilled to the point where he couldn’t feel them while he was cutting the straps, and he “kept telling myself, don’t drop the knife.” He said he always carries the knife — usually for peeling an apple or whittling a piece of alder.
Moody took the baby back to the banks and another person at the scene, Wade Shorey, performed CPR and resuscitated her.
The term hero gets bandied about far more than it should. When Kobe Bryant makes a game-winning shot at the buzzer, it sure is dazzling, but he should not be called a hero. When a father buys a child a hard-to-find limited edition Furby for Christmas, he should get some credit, but he’s no hero.
No, a real hero risks life and limb to save the life of another without regards to his or her own. Moody fits that description to a tee.
If it wasn’t for Moody and his trusty pocket knife (and, of course, Shorey’s CPR), things could have turned out much worse.
As it goes, let this be your frequent reminder to always have a pocket knife within arms reach. It could save a life.
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