Off-duty Cook County deputy helps save woman trapped in car after I-57 crash: 'It was all God'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Cook County deputy said it was divine intervention that led him to save complete stranger's life.

"It was all God. It was all just a feeling and hearing his voice saying you need to go help," Cook County Deputy Freddy Crosby said.

Crosby was off-duty when he was driving home from a friend's house early Easter Sunday morning.

He was heading northbound on I-57 near 119th Street when he saw a car flipped on its side in the southbound lanes of the expressway.

"It could be anybody, and if that's you, of course you would want somebody to help you in that situation," Crosby said.

Around 2 a.m., a 2020 black Mercedes Benz crashed and rolled over on its side, Illinois State Police said.

Crosby parked his car about 20 feet behind the car to block traffic. A 30-year-old woman from Chicago was trapped inside the vehicle.

He said a few other Good Samaritans tried to flip her car back on its side before first responders arrived.

"About five seconds, later I heard a big boom," Crosby said. "I had a sinking feeling, because I knew what was going on."

Another car traveling southbound on the interstate crashed into the back of Crosby's vehicle.

Although his car was damaged, it blocked the other vehicle from crashing into the flipped car with the woman still inside.

"She probably wouldn't be here today, as well as probably us also, because we're on the other side and we can't see traffic coming," he said.

The driver of the flipped car was driving under the influence of alcohol, and was cited for improper lane usage and driving too fast, ISP said.

She was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Crosby told ABC7 he never was able to talk to the woman, but he is grateful to have been at the right place at the right time to lend a hand.

"I thank God that she's alive, and I thank her family for being able to see another day," Crosby said.