A West Point cadet pulled a driver from a crash just moments before the car burst into flames over the weekend in Orange County, New York. 

Larry Pickett Jr. and his family came upon the crash while driving to campus early Sunday morning. 

He and his father could be seen avoiding downed power lines as they raced over to lift the man from the driver’s seat and carry him to safety across the street. 

“Seeing that there was somebody who needed help, there’s not much thinking or any talking. Just knowing that we had to go help someone, just reacted off of that,” Pickett Jr. told CBS News New York. 

The Fort Montgomery Fire Department said the driver hit a utility pole on Route 9W, about six miles away from West Point. The man was said to be alert and appeared to have only minor injuries. 

Pickett family praised for “heroic actions”

Pickett Jr., who hails from Raleigh, North Carolina, is a sophomore at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and plays free safety for the football team. His family was in town for the first game of the season and they had been coming back from dinner in New York City. 

“I’m just extremely thankful that we were in the right place at the right time to help the gentleman,” Pickett Jr. said. “It just goes back to selfless service, the willingness to serve others. It feels good, but in the end, I’m just glad that everyone’s okay.”

His father, Larry Pickett Sr., posted the video on social media, saying his son’s display of courage is a testament to the character the school is instilling in him.

“To see my son spring into action, like to run towards a car that has a power line on it and under it, was amazing,” Pickett Sr. said.

The U.S. Military Academy echoed that sentiment, writing it was “proud of the heroic actions” taken by Pickett Jr. and his father.

“Cadet Larry Pickett Jr. and his father exemplify the values we hold dear, stepping up in a moment of crisis to save a life,” Athletic Director Tom Theodorakis wrote. “Proud to see these traits in action, on and off the fields of friendly strife. Count the brave.”

Nick Caloway and

The Associated Press

contributed to this report.

Blue Bottle coffee shops in the Bay Area have unionized, becoming the latest locations to be swept up in the wave of barista organizing that has surged across the U.S. in recent years.

In an election held by the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday, workers at Bay Area locations of the specialty coffee chain — three in Oakland and one in Berkeley — voted 22 to 5 in favor of joining Blue Bottle Independent Union.

The independent union won its first victory in May of last year when it unionized six locations of the Nestlé-owned chain in the greater Boston area.

The roughly 80 workers the union represents in Massachusetts will now be augmented by 37 workers at the four new union stores in California.

“We have growing ranks of baristas realizing they deserve better,” said Alex Pyne, 25, president of the Blue Bottle Independent union.

Blue Bottle spokesperson Annaliese Hazen said in a statement the company respected the right of workers to form a union.

“At the heart of our culture at Blue Bottle Coffee lies a profound commitment to care. While we believe in our ability to address the needs of our teams directly, we respect their right to union representation,” Hazen said.

Since a successful bid by Starbucks workers in Buffalo, N.Y., to unionize their store in late 2021, cafes have become a new, highly visible ground for organizing. Hundreds of Starbucks locations have unionized, as well as other smaller chains such as Gimme Coffee in Ithaca, N.Y., and Boba Guys in Los Angeles.

The broader restaurant industry is largely non-union, besides sub-industries such as hotel kitchens and airport and stadium concessions.

Blue Bottle union leaders said they chose not to affiliate their group with a large established union so as to maintain flexibility and control over how they organize stores. It’s a similar path taken by the independent Amazon Labor Union and Trader Joe’s United that formed in recent years.

The Bay Area Blue Bottle workers first announced their union drive in June.

The workers are seeking improved benefits and higher wages to address the high cost of living in the Bay area. At the Berkeley and Oakland stores, baristas start at $20.07 while shift supervisors start at $21.07, which workers said is not enough to make ends meet in the high-priced area.

They also cite the loss of such perks as holiday bonuses and a free weekly bag of coffee beans since Nestlé acquired a majority stake in 2017.

Workers also said they want more transparency with the company’s sourcing of coffee beans and display that shows prices of raw coffee, as well as Nestlé’s practices in other parts of the world.

“We are just workers standing up for themselves,” said Alex Reyes, a shift supervisor who has worked at the Berkeley store for eight years. “We want a seat at the table.”