TORONTO -- Dramatic video shows a police officer rushing to save a man in a wheelchair who was stuck on the tracks as an oncoming train sped towards him.
Officer Erika Urrea was on patrol in Lodi, Calif. -- approximately 56 kilometres from Sacramento -- on Wednesday morning when she noticed a man in a wheelchair who appeared to be stuck on the train tracks.
Bodycam footage shows the railroad crossing arms starting to come down when Urrea exits her vehicle and begins running towards the man.
At first, Urrea tries to push the man and his wheelchair off the tracks with no luck.
"Can you get up?" she asks the man as the train’s horn sounds in the background.
She then hauls the man out of his wheelchair and they both fall back onto the ground seconds before the wheelchair is crushed by the train.
In a Facebook post, the Lodi Police Department praised Urrea's quick actions.
"Officer Urrea risked her own life to save another and her actions prevented a tragedy today. We are extremely proud of Officer Erika Urrea and her heroism," the post read.
The 66-year-old man suffered a leg injury and was tended to by Urrea and another officer who had arrived on the scene to assist.
The man was later transported to hospital and is reportedly in stable condition.
