'I am no hero': Georgia mayor Eddie Daniels rescues mom and children moments before train hits car
VIENNA, GEORGIA: Eddie Daniels, a Georgia mayor, came to the aid of a mother and her three young children after the car they were traveling in broke down on a railroad track when a train tried to pull in. When Mayor Eddie Daniels, who was on his way to work in the small town about two hours south of Atlanta, noticed the black SUV in a precarious position shortly before 3.45 am Saturday morning.
The mayor rushed out of his car to help Rodreka Morgan, a 26-year-old mother of three young children (6, 3, and 1). After helping her out, he turned around and saw three kids inside the car. He claims he saved the two younger kids and was helping the 6-year-old when the train crashed into their car. All of them were saved just in time thanks to him. "I got the two small ones out," he told the station. "At that time, I [saw] the train and the 6-year-old, I was pulling her out and that's when the train hit." The Vienna Police Department shared the moving story over the weekend on their official Facebook page.
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Mayor Daniels said he remembers being caught between the train and the SUV but still managed to get the last child out. The smashed vehicle landed a few feet from where it was hit. Daniels has a broken ankle and eight stitches on his head. He said he’s thankful the family is alive.
"I couldn't let those babies sit there and get slaughtered by a train," Daniels told WALB-TV. Even though he was wedged between the train and the SUV, Daniels said he still managed to save the last child. The car was only a few feet away from the point of impact when it crashed to the ground. “I seen a lady in trouble, and I knew I had to do what I had to do,” he said. Police in Vienna state that Daniels suffered minor injuries from the collision and subsequent debris. He has a fractured ankle and has eight stitches on his head. He expressed gratitude that the family is alive. Additionally, the second-term mayor of the 4,000-person city in south-central Georgia stated he never would have imagined this occurring. “I’m out here just doing God’s work. That’s what we’re supposed to do," Daniels said. “And they told me I was a hero. I said I don’t feel like a hero, just feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, what the people elected me to do.”
According to the findings of an inquiry conducted after the accident, Morgan had alcohol in her system at the time of the incident. A charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as well as two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, was brought against the mother. The Vienna, Georgia, police department has reportedly informed the Georgia State Patrol that they are now in charge of this inquiry. There was a delay in the availability of legal information regarding Morgan.