After years spent making a name for himself as one of the most electrifying running backs ever seen on the Cleveland Browns, the five-time Pro Bowler found himself facing a much tougher challenge off the field. In fact, on Friday, the 74-year-old star had to be saved from the truck he was in because it had become submerged in floodwaters. It was a close call that nearly cost him his life.

“Former Cleveland Browns running back Greg Pruitt was rescued by Cleveland firefighters Friday after the 74-year-old attempted to drive through several feet of water that flooded Holton Avenue following a water main break,” News 5 Cleveland reported on June 13, 2026.

It all started when Pruitt attempted to drive his Nissan pickup truck through a flooded section of Holton Avenue, following a water main break. He told News 5 Cleveland that he simply did not realize how deep the water was until it was too late. With his truck submerged and going nowhere, Pruitt did what he had to do; he climbed out through the sunroof and waited for help.

Fortunately, help came soon enough. The quick action of the Cleveland firefighters saved the day by rescuing the former Browns player. Also, nearby workers helped by pulling the truck out of the water after making sure that Pruitt was safe. Among those who helped was Monte Madden, whose family owns a truck washing and automobile recycling company on Holton Avenue.

“We could hear him because he was blowing the horn,” Madden said, according to the outlet.

However, he and his uncle wasted no time in pulling the truck out of the water. However, for Madden, this was about much more than just Greg Pruitt. Water main breaks happen all too often, much more often than one would think. In fact, Cleveland Water responds to about five of them on an average day, though most are minor and go unnoticed. The serious problem only occurs when there is a water main break at a low point in the road. In these cases, the water cannot drain anywhere and just pools there instead.

That low-lying stretch of Holton Avenue, tucked under a train bridge, floods regularly, and the community has grown exhausted by it.

“We have to rescue people out of our own neighborhood,” he said. “This is what we have to go through because we don’t live in Pepper Pike. We don’t live in Beachwood.”

He added that warning signs are posted along the road, but many drivers either miss them or choose to ignore them, and each time it rains, the situation seems to get a little worse than before.

Pruitt walked away without serious injury, and that alone is something to be grateful for.

Greg Pruitt remains one of the Browns’ legends

Selected in the second round of the 1973 NFL Draft, Pruitt arrived as a blur out of Oklahoma and never really slowed down. Entering the draft at just 177 pounds, he did not have the size most teams looked for, but what he lacked in weight, he made up for with moves. Cleveland took a chance on him, and he spent the next nine seasons making sure they never regretted it.

In the last home game of the 1975 season, Greg Pruitt put on a show for Cleveland fans in a way they would never forget. Needing over 200 yards to reach 1,000 for the season, he delivered exactly that, rushing for 214 yards and scoring three touchdowns against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I was so excited about getting 1,000 yards,” Puritt said. “That’s my fond memory. They all started celebrating.”

He earned four Pro Bowl selections during his time in Cleveland and put together three seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards. But the injury eventually caught up with him. In 1978, he battled leg and ankle problems, including a calf injury that required surgery and cost him four games. He still managed 960 rushing yards that season, leading the team in rushing for a fifth straight year, though it proved to be his last truly productive campaign.

Then came 1979 and a knee injury that changed everything. Surgery sidelined him for most of the season, and the effects lingered well beyond that. Rather than the explosive runner Cleveland fans had grown to love, Pruitt gradually became more of a pass catcher out of the backfield.

Over his final three seasons with the Browns, he carried the ball just 133 times for 474 yards, a far cry from what he once was. In April 1982, Cleveland traded him to the Oakland Raiders.

By the end of his career, he had accumulated 5,672 rushing yards and 3,069 receiving yards, numbers that told the story of a player who could genuinely do it all.