When you are a police officer, you put your life on line everyday when you are on duty. However, this officer chose to put his life on the line when he was off duty as well. People have been calling him a hero cop as he risked his life to save a kid from a train with only moments to spare.
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Hero Cop Reporting For Duty
Deputy Castaneda from Yucaipa Station has been honored with the Meritorious Valor Award for his heroic act of saving a child from the train tracks. A true example of courage and dedication to our community.
— San Bernardino County Sheriff (@sbcountysheriff) October 13, 2024
Video credit: @morenovalleymatters2024 pic.twitter.com/JAJdwxPQCH
Michael Castaneda was on his way home after a long day of work when he noticed something strange. He got stuck behind an SUV at a railroad crossing. Sometimes traffic and backups happen, no big deal. However, this car did not move once the gate began to close. Thus meaning that it was in the path of the train that was steadily approaching.
Castaneda told KTLV that he saw the car try to move out of the way but that it "ended up getting stuck in the gravel." When the driver realized that they could not get the car out of the way in time, the exited their vehicle. However, the person did not flee the scene. Instead, they moved to the back of the vehicle. Castaneda said, "At that moment, it dawned on me really quick that there's probably a kid back there or another passenger in the vehicle, and that train was getting really close."
While most of us may have just watched in horror, this hero cop sprang into action. He watched as the mother successfully pulled one child out of the car. She set that child down and went back into the car for her second child. Castaneda recalled, "As soon as she put that child down, I heard the horn, and to me, that was the start of a race. I just started running to get that kid out of there."
Police Officer Saves Kid From Oncoming Train
There was no way that the mother was going to have time to get her second child out of the car, carry them away and come back for the child she had initially put on the ground. Luckily, she didn't have to choose. Officer Castaneda was a hero cop that day. He raced towards the oncoming train and grabbed the child that was sitting on the track. As he saves the kid from the oncoming train, the mother of the children was able to successfully free her other child and run in the opposite direction.
Thankfully, this officer was in the right place at the right time and everyone made it out of this tense situation okay. He was later rewarded with the Meritorious Valor Award for saving the child from the train.
