A mayor in Georgia helped a mother and her three children get to safety after their car stalled on tracks while a train was fast approaching. According to WALB, Mayor Eddie Daniels managed to rescue the family moments before the train rammed into their stalled SUV.
“I couldn’t let those babies sit there and get slaughtered by a train,” Daniels told the news outlet.
The near-fatal Saturday incident occurred while Daniels was headed to work. He sprung into action after he noticed an SUV had stalled on the tracks and a train was getting closer to the vehicle.
“I seen a lady in trouble, and I knew I had to do what I had to do,” he recalled.
The woman’s children – aged 6, 3, and 1 – were in the backseat of the stalled vehicle. Daniels initially helped the mother get out of the SUV before he went to the backseat. And though he managed to pull two of the minors out, the train slammed into the vehicle as he was rescuing the elder sibling. They, however, got out of harm’s way in the nick of time.
“I got the two small ones out. At that time, I seen the train and the six-year-old, I was pulling her out and that’s when the train hit,” Daniels said.
The wrecked truck landed not too far from where the train hit it, WALB reported. “It knocked the truck back round that way and that’s where you see those skid marks,” Daniels said.
And though Daniels suffered a broken ankle and a head injury that required eight stitches, he said he’s glad the family got out of harm’s way.
“I’m out here just doing God’s work, that’s what we’re supposed to do. 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,” Daniels said, adding that he would have never thought such an incident would happen while he’s serving his second mayoral term.
But he said he was glad he found himself at the right place. “Terrible scene but we was able to save some lives,” Daniels said.
