Watch: Trooper Rescues Driver Seconds Before Train Crushes Him

A man’s life was saved in the nick of time Wednesday morning thanks to the heroic actions of a Utah Highway Patrol Trooper.

Dashcam footage shows the heart-pounding moments when Trooper Ruben Correa pulls over on the side of the road, then runs up the embankment toward a vehicle stuck on the train tracks.

“We’ve got to get out of here, we’ve got a train coming! We’ve got a train coming! We’ve got a train coming!” Correa is heard shouting at the unconscious driver as the train approaches in the distance.

“I looked to my left and was able to observe the train was coming pretty fast,” Correa told reporters, “anywhere between 50 – 80 miles per hour.”

As he pulls the man from the vehicle, the train screeches by them and smashes into the abandoned vehicle, pushing it down the tracks.

“At that point, I actually wasn’t really thinking, I was just doing my job,” Correa recalled.

The UTA train operator said he slammed on the emergency brakes when he saw the car on the tracks, slowing the train that was traveling at 79 miles per hour.

“If he hadn’t hit the emergency break when he did, there might not have been enough time to get those people out of the way,” said UTA spokesperson Carl Arky.

Correa said during a press conference later that day the driver had been suffering from a “possible unknown medical condition.”

However, Correa stated he was grateful they both made it to safety in time.

“I’m still trying to process everything that happened. I’m just very grateful that I was able to get him out and he’s alive and he’s back with his family now,” he commented.

Colonel of the Utah Highway Patrol, Michael Rapich, praised Trooper Correa on Twitter Wednesday morning:

Local news outlets said the Trooper was shy about all the attention he received following the daring rescue.

“In fact, he told reporters that stepping in front of news cameras was the scariest thing he did all day,” according to ABC 4.

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