Kenyatta CarterCarter, a 2000 state champ at Waterloo West High School, came upon a car that had burst into flames after smashing into a tree less than a mile from his house.
"It was kind of a flashback to (Iraq)," Carter told The Des Moines Registeron Monday. "There were a couple situations that I had that were similar, where somebody's life was in danger."
"There was not even a thought (about what to do)," Carter continued. "When somebody's life is in danger and I can be a variable to helping him get out and save his life, there wasn't a second thought. It was an immediate reaction."
"When I saw people pulling him out, right away I started to help, assist pulling the guy out," Carter told KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Houston. "I thought, if they are in it, they were courageous enough, then who am I to sit in the comfort of my car while these people go out and try to save this young man's life."
"I just did what I felt like I would have wanted someone to do for me in that situation."
The 28-year-old driver who was pulled from the burning car was airlifted to a Houston hospital with severe burns on his legs. He is expected to recover.
Carter won the Class 3A 160-pound title at the 2000 Iowa state wrestling championships by defeating Pat Wilsbacher, Sioux City Heelan, 5-2, in the finals, according to "Reach for the Stars: The Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament" book by Dan McCool. He later went on to wrestle at Iowa Central, where he was a two-time junior college national finalist, the Register reported.
According to his Facebook page, Carter is now a Master Trainer and Fitness Manager at 24 Hour Fitness in Houston . The mixed martial arts website Sherdog.com reports that Carter has had one amateur MMA bout, where he scored a three-round unanimous decision over Clovis Hancock at USACA-Legacy Amateur Series 13 in August 2013.
Kenyatta Carter's younger brother Akeem, a two-time Iowa state champ also at Waterloo West, went on to claim two back-to-back NCAA Division III national championships at 197 pounds in 2004 and 2005.
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