He was saved from being crushed by his own truck. He says there was 'divine intervention.'

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- How many of us have ever had the chance to save a life? If presented with such a situation, could we rise to the occasion?

One Richmond-area coach believes he is alive today because a fellow coach did just that, and he's actually done it more than just once.

In his 44 years as a track coach at Manchester High School, Gene Bowen has gone through his duties more times than he can count.

But back in January, he encountered a situation for which he could have never prepared.

Bowen drove his truck to a gate surrounding the long jump pit and try as he might, he couldn't quite explain what happened next.

“I took my foot off the brake. I opened up the door. I walked around. I went to the gate,” Bowen said. “Out of the corner of my eye, that's what I saw. And it was right here.”

Bowen's truck was not fully in park and had rolled forward pinning him against the gate.

“I don't know! I don't know how it did it because it did not roll when I got out of the car,” Bowen said. “I mean, that thing was on me. Big time! I could not move, I could hardly breathe.”

Just a few feet away, Justin Akers had left his classroom at Bailey Bridge Middle School next door.

“I'll come down here and find something football-related to do,” Akers said.

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Akers is an assistant coach for the Lancers football team and was headed to their locker room.

“Right about here, I could see him, and I could see his truck, and I could see the top of his chest and his head,” Akers said.

“It was in drive. It was constant pressure. I tried to push back and I was friggin' stuck,” Bowen said. “And my guardian angel was there. Out of the blue, because it's just like now, there's nobody down here.”

Akers got to the truck and backed it away from Bowen - likely saving his life

“I would have run out of oxygen. I could have died. Easily,” Bowen said. “I feel it was more than just random luck. I think there was some divine intervention. The Almighty said no, not yet.”

Now that's a pretty good story, right? Someone in trouble, a hero who comes to his aid, and two fellow coaches who get to laugh about it later.

But as it turns out, that's not the only example of Justin's heroics.

Back in November, on his way to Manchester's regional playoff game against Highland Springs, Akers witnessed an accident on Hull Street Road.

“I see this car start to come across these lanes of traffic not like they're turning. Like they've lost control,” Akers said.

A car crossed the median and slammed into the vehicle in front of him sending it down an embankment and landing on its roof. Two people were trapped inside.

“My response was ok, what do we need to do? He goes ‘Well, can you move the car?’”

Akers played football for Baylor University and at one time could bench press 375 pounds. This vehicle weighed more than 14 times that.

“It sounds crazy when I say it out loud, but I then proceeded to rock the car to get leverage and push the SUV up back on its tires and then proceeded to pull those two people out of that car,” Akers said.

The occupants of the SUV were able to get out without any serious injuries. Akers has been called Superman by some of his students and is wary of any hero labels, but it does give him a lesson to pass on to his students and players.

“Be in service of others. If there is a situation that's going on where you can help, that's what you're supposed to do,” Akers said.

“I can safely say he literally saved my life,” Bowen said.

Coach Bowen actually drove himself to the emergency room after his incident.

He had no broken bones or serious injuries - just a few bad bruises.

Akers is getting ready for his new job as offensive coordinator for the Lancers this fall and is still downplaying whenever anyone tries to call him a hero.