A police officer from Lodi, California, was captured on video saving the life of a man in a wheelchair who found himself stuck on the tracks seconds before a train came barrelling towards them.
Video footage captured by the body camera worn by the officer shows the dramatic rescue of the disabled man, who was pulled off the tracks with only seconds to spare.
Officer Erika Urrea of the Lodi Police Department was patrolling Lodi Avenue near the railroad tracks at approximately 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday when she noticed the wheelchair-bound man on the tracks.
As she pulled up next to the man, she realized that the man, identified as a 66-year-old, appeared to have got his wheelchair stuck on the tracks just as the railroad crossing started coming down and a train was fast approaching, the Lodi Police Department said on Facebook.
"Can You Get Up?"
The officer then immediately exited the police cruiser and ran towards the man before attempting to pull his chair off the tracks. After realizing the chair was wedged in the tracks, she decided to pull him out of the chair.
"Can you get up?," she asks the man, as the oncoming locomotive's horn can be heard in the background. Urrea manages to pull the man out of the wheelchair and both fall to the ground just as the train hurtles across the track and hits the wheelchair and the man's leg with a frightening thud.
The time taken between Urrea exiting her vehicle and the train crossing over was clocked at 15 seconds, according to the video footage. The officer manages to scramble off the ground and radios in for an ambulance before grabbing the man and trying to pull him further away from the tracks as the locomotive speeds across. Watch the video below:
Risked Her Own Life to Save Another
Urrea and Officer Chris Delgado, who arrived at the scene seconds later, administered treatment to the man, who suffered a leg injury, before he was rushed to a nearby hospital for further medical attention. He is expected to survive, police said.
"Officer Urrea risked her own life to save another and her actions prevented a tragedy today. We are extremely proud of Officer Erika Urrea and her heroism," the Lodi Police Department said in their statement.
