A police sheriff from San Bernardino County only had a split second to save a child from a train that was coming the other way.
Deputy Michael Castaneda said, “I knew something was going on and something had to be done right away.”
Castanada is seen on cell phone video picking up the child on a country road in Redlands as the train closes in on them.
“As soon as she put that child down, I heard the horn and to me, that was the start of a race,” he added. “I started running to get that kid out of there.”
At Live Oak Canyon and San Timoteo, there is a train crossing. Casteneda said he was on the tracks behind the car when the gate began to close.
“It’s started to process quickly in my head, what was going on especially when I saw that car try to maneuver out of the way and ended up getting stuck in the gravel,” he added.
The driver was stuck, but Castenada said he saw her get back into the car instead of running away from the moving train.
“At the moment, it dawned on me pretty quick that there’s probably a kid back there or another passenger in the vehicle and that train was getting close,” said he.
The mother got out of the car with one kid and put another one down on the ground.
He said, “Time slowed down, but it was only seconds.”
At that point, the deputy picks up the child on the ground and runs away, while the mother runs the other kid in the opposite direction.
“I think it was just the perfect timing for me to be somewhere,” he said.
The deputy was off duty and on his way home when the Marine veteran told him he didn’t question what he did.
“What I do for my job, what I’ve done in the past is just to help people,” he stated.
Source: Off-duty deputy runs in front of train to rescue a child in San Bernardino County
