Winston-Salem State RB Kenneth Sharpe saves teen from burning vehicle

Winston-Salem State incoming freshman running back Kenneth Sharpe Jr., is being hailed a hero for saving a boy from a burning vehicle on Friday.

Sharpe and his girlfriend were driving home to Harrellsville, N.C., when they saw a wreck on the highway. Sharpe noticed a 13-year-old Benjamin Rodwell trying to escape from a burning car and pulled over to help.

“He was about four feet from the fire,” Sharpe told wral.com. “And I got to him. I was about a good five or six (feet). And I told him ‘Hey crawl to me, crawl to me.’ I grabbed him. I pulled him on my shoulder and I automatically started taking him to the car.”

Sharpe’s girlfriend drove the teen to Halifax Regional Medical Center in Roanoke Rapids while Sharpe kept the Rodwell, who had injuries to the lower half of his body, engaged.

“I said ‘What’s your favorite color,'” Sharpe said. “He said ‘My favorite color is orange.’ I said ‘What sport do you like to play?’ He said ‘I like to play football.'”

Rodwell will have surgery Monday. He was a passenger in the car driven by his 17-year-old brother Zachary Rodwell. While the two were driving, Zachary crossed the centerline and hit Brandon Lee, 23. Rodwell’s vehicle overturned and caught fire. Authorities were not able to get Zachary out of the car in time and he died at the scene. Lee died at the hospital.

Sharpe, who comes from a family of firefighters, didn’t hesitate when asked whether he’d perform the same feat again.

“If that was anybody I would, you know, do it,” Sharpe told wral.com. “Because if that was me in that predicament I would want somebody to do the same thing.”

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