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AUBURN, Ill. (WICS) — A 19-year-old woman is being called a hero after saving a 75-year-old man’s life from a speeding train.
Ashley Aldridge stopped the potential for tragedy Tuesday afternoon after she heard cries for help. A man, Earl Moorman, was stuck in his wheelchair on the train tracks by her house with a train fast-approaching.
With a little quick thinking and pure fearlessness, both survived completely uninjured.
Moorman, who cannot walk and uses a motorized wheelchair, was crossing the train tracks to visit his mother.
“I started screaming when the train coming,” he said.
Aldridge heard the screams from her neighbor’s porch. Without thinking twice, she jumped into action.
“I ran down the steps. Ran over there to help him,” she said.
Running through rocks around the already dropped crossing gate, Aldridge didn’t have a lot of time.
“The wheels weren’t moving so I decided to try to lift him up from behind and at first I couldn’t and
I look up and the train is just about lined up with the house” she said.
Amtrak said in Auburn, trains can reach up to 79 miles per hour.
Mere seconds from death, 130-pound Ashley dragged 200-pound Earl from his wheelchair.
“I thought the train hit his feet. It was that close” said Aldridge.
But instead, both watched the train go by – unharmed.
“I didn’t know if I was alive or dead” said Moorman.
“And then I lay on the ground and she gave me a big hug.”
His wheelchair was destroyed.
“He told me I was his guardian angel” said Aldridge.
Other cars didn’t stop for Earl – driving around him as he sat helpless.
“If I didn’t go after him, I would have been living with why didn’t I go after him and help him and that would have been so much worse.” she said.
Strangers a day ago, Moorman is now forever grateful. His family said he will not be crossing those tracks to visit his mom ever again. If he wants to go, he will get a ride from family or friends.
Source: fox17
Teen Saves 75-Year-Old Man Stuck on Train Tracks
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