There’s always a hero within us all.
When the call to help others is right in front of us, our initial instinct will always tell us to lend a hand, especially if it can save someone else’s life.
But what if it will put your life at risk, too?
This police officer never thought of the risk put upon herself when she tried to save this man stuck in the railway tracks.
Officer Erika Urrea of the Lodi Police Department was in the right place at the right time.
She was roving in the area along Lodi Avenue railway tracks when she spotted a man with his wheelchair stuck in the trenches. What makes the situation more alarming is that there’s a train approaching.
Officer Urrea’s body cam caught the entire incident.
It’s a very anxiety-inducing video, just around 43 seconds short. But it will definitely leave you out of breath.
She ran to the man in an instant.
She asked him if he could get up. Probably realizing that the man is still buckled to his wheelchair, she unbuckled him, grabbed him from his torso, where she immediately pulled him up and away from the track.
The next few seconds are shocking and relieving at the same time.
The train passed, crushing the man’s wheelchair. Officer Urrea was even thrown off her balance from the pull. She immediately got back up, checked on the man, pulled him away, and immediately radioed in the station to call 911 and asked for an ambulance.
The man, identified as Jonathan Mata, was immediately brought to the nearest hospital for medical treatment in critical but stable conditions.
Jonathan lost his automatic wheelchair to that horrible incident. His daughter immediately set up a GoFundMe page to buy him his new wheelchair, and people were quick to extend some help. A Facebook page called Lodi Live also published the fundraiser on their page and asked people to help Jonathan acquire a new wheelchair.
Her speedy action to the situation saved a man’s life.
At that very moment, the only thing that was on her mind was to get the man out of the tracks. But as she reviewed the video 24 hours later, she told NBC News:
“Honestly, it seems like I’m watching someone else’s video. It’s very surreal… it was scary to watch.”
She received high praises both from the police department and the people who viewed the video.
Lodi Police Captain David Griffin released a statement praising Officer Urrea and her heroic act and acknowledging that “her awareness and quick action she was able to save the man’s life at great personal risk to herself.”
A few weeks later, the Amtrak Police Department awarded her a Silver Star and Life Saving Awards.
Everybody is praising her for her actions, but she quickly shunned the compliments.
She says that she doesn’t consider herself a hero even after saving that man’s life. For her, she was just doing what anyone would do if it were their family, friends, or loved ones in the situation.
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