Police confirm Patriots' Fleming helped woman after car wreck

New England Patriots linebacker Darius Fleming played in the divisional round with 22 stitches in his right leg after an act of heroism, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe initially reported.

Fleming witnessed a three-car accident near Gillette Stadium on the Thursday before the game. When a woman couldn't escape from her vehicle, Fleming came to the rescue and kicked out her window, saving her.

After reporters struggled to confirm the veracity of Fleming's story, The Walpole, Mass., police department released a statement substantiating most of the Patriots' claims:

There was no fire involved in this crash however there was air bag deployment, which to the untrained eye can appear as if the vehicle is enveloped in smoke. The officers on scene did indicate one of the vehicles did have a broken window. The operator of that vehicle did make statements to one officer that a male party “kicked in my window, I think he was a patriot”. This was not entered into the report as this was a standard motor vehicle crash report with no injury. On arrival the individual in question was not on scene and due to the nature of the accident there was no follow up to this information as the identity to an unknown good Samaritan had no bearing on this report. We are attempting to obtain more information at this time and will follow up with another release should we learn more.

The kick resulted in a gash in his leg, but Fleming was able to play despite the injury.

With a rash of injuries at linebacker, including to Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower, Fleming has been asked to play a more significant role on the Patriots' defense.