California cop saves man stuck on train tracks in wheelchair in the nick of time: 'She risked her life to save his'
LODI CITY, CALIFORNIA: A brave police officer is being hailed as a hero after she saved a 66-year-old wheelchair-using man from the tracks of a speeding freight train on Wednesday, August 12, morning. Although the elderly man ended up injuring his leg and is currently hospitalized, his life was definitely spared due to the cop's heroics.
The incident was caught on the bodycam footage of officer Erika Urrea, a 14-year veteran in the police department of Lodi. Urrea spotted the unidentified man around 8.44 am on Wednesday while his wheelchair was stuck on the train's tracks. As barricading arms went down on both sides of the rails to block traffic, the man sat immobile on the tracks, helplessly awaiting a tragedy.
The footage showed Urrea exiting her vehicle and running towards the man without any hesitation. Initially, she tried to push the man's wheelchair off the tracks. When she was unable to do so, she went for plan B, which was trying to get the man to safety before he was run over by the train. "Can you get up?" she asked the man frantically as the sound of the train's horn grew louder by the second. Even as the train came closer every moment, Urrea did not abandon hope. She urgently said, "Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up!" as she pulled the man from the chair by the arm with all her strength.
She managed to drag most of the man's body out of the harm's way as the large train swept over his lower legs. His cane was seen fallen near his body as he lay moaning near the tracks. After pulling the man to safety, Urrea tumbled backward onto the pavement from impact. However, without losing breath, she immediately got to her feet calling 911 for an ambulance as she held onto the man's gloved hands and dragged him further away from the tracks.
You can watch the video here:
HERO ALERT! Officer Erika Urrea of the Lodi, California Police Department sprung into action to save a man's life after his wheelchair became stuck on train tracks.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 13, 2020
The man suffered a leg injury but is expected to be OK. pic.twitter.com/RJrSDat55Y
The man is said to be in a critical but stable condition in the hospital as he receives treatment for his injured legs.
The video went viral since being posted on Twitter. "A northbound train was traveling pretty fast, and she rushed over to get him unstuck," said Sargeant Steve Maynard, who was with Urrea at the time of the accident. "She only had a few seconds." Although Urrea has publicly declined to comment about the incident, the Lodi Police Department praised for her heroic actions. "Officer Urrea risked her own life to save another, and her actions prevented a tragedy today," the department said in a statement. "We are extremely proud of Officer Urrea and her heroism."
Apparently, this was not the only heroic feat showed by the brave cop in her career. According to Lodi News, on August 4, Urrea tried to rescue an elderly man who collided with the rear of a bus while riding his bicycle. She performed CPR on the scene, on the 62-year-old man while waiting for the ambulance. After the paramedics appeared at the scene, they took over the process of CPR. The man's condition is unknown.