Congressman Saves 11-Year-Old’s Life After Using Two Pairs of Socks and a Seatbelt to Tourniquet His Arm and Leg

Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden is being praised as a hero after stepping in to save the life of an 11-year-old boy who was badly hurt in a car crash.

On Saturday, Aug. 16, Van Orden and his family were traveling on I-35 to attend a memorial for his daughter, who died two years ago, when he heard a “massive, massive boom” on the road, he told KCCI. The accident occurred about an hour outside Des Moines, according to the outlet.

A crash report from the Iowa State Patrol reviewed by PEOPLE stated that the sound came from a minivan slamming into a semi truck. The truck had been pulled over on the interstate shoulder due to a mechanical issue and was preparing to merge back into traffic.

The minivan’s driver, a 41-year-old woman, is suspected of being impaired, the Iowa State Patrol said. Authorities have launched an OWI (operating while intoxicated) drug investigation.

Both the woman and her 11-year-old passenger were listed as “injured.” Thanks to Van Orden’s quick response, however, the child survived.

The boy sustained multiple serious injuries, including an arterial bleed in his right wrist and deep leg wounds that exposed his tibia and fibula, according to Fox News.

Van Orden told KCCI that he ran back to his truck to grab two pairs of socks from his suitcase. He then improvised medical tools to keep the child alive.

“Then I put up two constricting bands because there wasn’t enough for a tourniquet,” he explained. “By then, several more people arrived, and I asked if anyone had a knife, and a guy handed me a carpet cutter and I cut the seatbelts and used those as tourniquets for his arm and leg to stop the bleeding.”

A former Navy SEAL, Van Orden drew on his combat training to stabilize the boy.

“I’m not just a Navy SEAL, I’m a combat medic. That was essentially a wound of war,” he said.

“When I saw the entire side of his leg was missing, that’s from his knee down to his ankle, and he was bleeding in his right wrist, and from my experience, there’s a high likelihood he would have bled to death before the ambulance showed up,” he added.

Both the child and the driver were airlifted to local hospitals, though their current conditions have not been made public.

Van Orden later visited the boy in the hospital on Monday, where he told Fox News that the child personally thanked him for saving his life. He also spoke with the boy’s father.

“I was able to speak to his dad, who clearly didn’t know that our daughter had passed, and I said, ‘Sir, our daughter passed two years ago, and I’m very thankful that you don’t have to share that experience.’ It was a very humbling moment with his dad,” Van Orden recalled.