National Grid Lineman Saves Couple After In Central New York

Sometimes heroes don’t wear capes, they wear hard hats and reflective vests.

That was exactly the case for National Grid lineman Drew Bucktooth, who found himself in the right place at the right time last week at the intersection of Knowell Road and Milton Avenue in Camillus.

A Routine Drive Turns Into a Rescue

According to CNY Central, Bucktooth was simply on his way to work when he came across an overturned car in the road. Without hesitation, he jumped into action:

“I pulled up on the scene, I saw the car upside down,” he told reporters. “So, I pulled out in front to block traffic from getting worse, turned my lights on, and saw a guy lying halfway out of the car.”

Bucktooth managed to pull the man to safety, but the rescue wasn’t over yet. Moments later, he learned the man’s wife was still trapped inside the wreck. Staying calm under pressure, he crawled back into the damaged vehicle, cut her seatbelt, and with help from another Good Samaritan, freed her from the wreckage.

Trapped and Running Out of Time

For a few terrifying moments, he thought she might not make it:

“When I was calling for her, she wasn’t answering right away,” he recalled. “That was the scariest part. But then I heard her breathing — she was quiet, but she was alive.”

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Bucktooth credits his annual first aid training with National Grid and his upbringing for helping him stay calm in such a high-stress moment. As a father of four sons, he says he’s always trying to teach his boys the same values that guided him that morning: compassion, courage, and doing the right thing when it matters most.

“I try to raise them with the same idea that we’re here to help lift everybody else around you,” he said.

 

A Lesson in Courage and Compassion

It’s not every day you hear a story like this, someone just going about their normal routine, suddenly faced with a life-or-death decision, and stepping up without hesitation. Thanks to Bucktooth’s quick thinking, two people made it home safely that day.