COFFEETOWN HS SPORTS

Walker Brietz proved himself to be a Coffeetown Hall-of-Famer with his rock-solid performance during a ‘save’ situation.

And the East Mecklenburg High School senior utility player wasn’t even holding a baseball when he did it.

Brietz lives with epilepsy. He knows what a seizure looks like.

So when he saw a UPS driver in an intersection crash on the way home from baseball practice, Brietz knew exactly what to do.

“There were cars going by without stopping. I could tell that it was something that just happened because I probably could’ve seen it from where I was in the distance,” Brietz told FOX8 in North Carolina.

“I could tell from him hanging out of the side that guy needs some help.”

Brietz’s next heroic move made him a first-ballot Coffeetown Hall-of-Famer

Charlotte traffic ain’t for the faint of heart.

Luckily for the UPS driver in distress, Walker Brietz has the heart of a titan.

A couple of bystanders saw the whole thing and called 911 by the time he pulled off to help.

Brietz’s guidance kept the severe situation under control until paramedics arrived on the scene.

“I said, ‘Here’s what you do – keep him on his side, make sure he doesn’t choke on his tongue or saliva at this point,’” Brietz advised.

“I’m just glad that I was able to be there because I have epilepsy myself, and so I know seizures and signs of them and stuff like that.”

Brietz’s actions carry the ultimate mark of a humble servant

No one knew what Brietz did on that drive home from practice other than him, and the bystanders who pulled up on the scene moments earlier.

So one of those bystanders decided to change that.

East Mecklenburg High School baseball coach Clint Koppe learned about Brietz’s life-saving act in an e-mail from an anonymous witness named ‘West’:

“Around 7:45 p.m., a UPS driver had crashed off the side of Sardis Road due to having a seizure and your player quickly turned around to help my wife and I as we called 911. With his assistance we got the man to break out of his shock and your player climbed over to safely put the car in park as it was crashed into a tree. … I found this to be very brave and an honorable act coming from someone his age. There were many cars that slowed down without stopping, and if your player can do this for a complete stranger, I can only imagine how great of a teammate he is.”

Of course, Brietz just sees himself as a normal high school senior

Just a kid on the way home from ball practice who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

But he’s more than that to the driver he helped, and to the people who saw it happen.

“The fact that it happened right there, and I was so close to home… it was something I felt like I needed to do.”

You never know how the experiences and inconveniences in your life will enable you to step in and help someone else during a time of need.

Hopefully we can all (and I’m mainly talking to myself here) be more like Walker Brietz – and less like the cars that passed by – when we see those moments in the lives of others.

That’s just being a good teammate.

And in Brietz’s case, that’s what it looks like to be a Coffeetown Hall-of-Famer.

Do YOU know a Coffeetown Hall-of-Famer in your town?

SUBMIT stories about a notable high school coach, athlete, figure or entire team that the world needs to know about.

Drop a line on the COFFEETOWN YOUR TOWN page today and the AD will be in touch.