Tennis team steps in and saves a life following a car wreck

The Rockmart High School boy’s tennis team helped save a man's life on the road back home after a state playoff match.

Their victory at the Elite Eight tournament made them champions, but their actions along a Georgia Highway Tuesday afternoon made them heroes in the eyes of many.

"We were in shock. We weren't sure what happened," said student Jackson Norris.

Members of Rockmart High's men's tennis team were traveling on Highway 27 just outside of Columbus when an accident happened right in front of their eyes. A pickup truck swerved off the road, hit a guardrail, and ended up in a ditch. The car flipped over leaving a man pinned underneath.

"He jumped the guardrail, started flipping and tumbling," student Tyler Baschao said.

"He went airborne.  Three wheels came off the truck. He flipped several times going down the embankment," said parent Tim Malone.

A bystander captured images at the crash site. With traffic at a standstill, Malone and other adults traveling with the group raced to help.

"One man was bloody walking around, one man was in shock walking around but they both said there was another man trapped underneath the truck," said Malone.

The situation was dire. Malone said the full weight of the truck was sitting on the man's torso.

"And he was laying under there screaming I'm dying and I'm burning get this off of me," said Malone.

Malone summoned 8 team members standing nearby for help. The group, now joined by a volunteer firefighter, sprang into action.

"And we all helped to lift up the truck and the volunteer firefighter drug the man out and we all tried to comfort him," Norris said.

A military helicopter out of Fort Benning took the injured man to the hospital.

"It feels great to know we helped save somebody's life," Baschao said.

They saved a man's life that day, but insist they're no heroes, and just thank God they could help.

"We were definitely meant to be there. We were sent from God," said Norris.