A California police officer pulled a man out of his wheelchair and to safety on Wednesday, moments before he would have been crushed by an oncoming train, dramatic video of the rescue showed.
Lodi police officer Erika Urrea and Sgt. Steve Maynard were on patrol in their Central Valley community when they spotted the 66-year-old man in his wheelchair, stuck on tracks as crossing guards were coming down and a train approached at 8:44 a.m. PT, officials said.
Urrea’s body camera captured the life-and-death seconds, as she sprinted from her squad car to the pedestrian, stuck on Lodi Avenue.
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“Can you get up?” Urrea asked frantically.
She unbuckled him, grabbed his torso and pulled him up out of the chair.
“Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up!” Urrea screamed as the Union Pacific train approached.
Urrea and the man fell to ground as the train smashed through his wheelchair feet away.
“I need an ambulance now!” Urrea yelled out.
The man was taken to the hospital and Lodi police hailed Urrea’s bold and heroic actions.
“Officer Urrea risked her own life to save another and her actions prevented a tragedy today,” according to a department statement. “We are extremely proud of Officer Erika Urrea and her heroism.”
