China Is Calling A Retired US Firefighter A Hero After He Reportedly Helped People Hurt In Brutal Car Crash

Multiple Chinese news outlets are running with the story of Tommy Patton, reportedly a retired firefighter from the United States who was photographed stepping in to help after a brutal car crash.

According to one source, Shanghai Daily, Patton was on the scene at a six car pile up in the Jiading District of Shanghai. One car, a small Sedan, was completely wrecked and trapped under a container truck. Photos posted to Weibo show the bare-chested Patton stepping in to help:

One witness to the accident wrote about it on Weibo, "I saw the foreigner squatting outside the car when I got stuck on the jammed expressway. [Patton] kept talking to the injured passengers in the car and tried to keep them conscious."

Shanghai Daily reports that Patton was trained in basic rescue operation, especially involving car crashes, and was trying to stop the victims' bleeding. He is believed to have injured his own arm while helping out.

Amazingly, this isn't the first time Patton is believed to have helped out in accidents like this: xinmin.cn reports he has stepped in at least two times before.

Reports of Patton's good deeds have spread on Weibo, and he is being praised online for his heroism. The former firefighter is only the most recent foreigner to go viral for kind actions, however - one notable case involved Jason Loose, an American college student studying in China who was photographed giving away McDonald's to a homeless person and became known as "french fry brother."