On Wednesday morning, Lodi, California police officer Erika Urrea spotted a man in a wheelchair stuck on some train tracks.
In heart-stopping body-cam video from the incident, Urrea is seen jumping out of her patrol car and breathlessly running toward the man, with the railroad crossing arms ringing and the oncoming train blaring its horn.
“As the train was reaching them, she was able to pull the male out of the wheelchair and they both fell back onto the ground,” the Lodi Police Department wrote later on Facebook. “The male suffered a leg injury that was tended to immediately by Officer Delgado (who had arrived to assist) and Officer Urrea. The 66-year-old male was ultimately transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. 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.”
Urrea, a 14-year-veteran of the force, declined to speak to the media about the incident. The victim remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
More from the Lodi News: This also was not the first time Urrea acted to save a Lodi resident's life. According to Lt. Eric VerSteeg, Urrea attempted to perform life-saving measures on an elderly man who collided with the rear of a bus while cycling on Aug. 4. On that day, Urrea responded to the collision just before 2 p.m. in the 2300 block of West Kettleman Lane. Urrea performed CPR on a 62-year-old man as paramedics arrived on scene and took over. The man was taken to an area hospital for treatment. In March, the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office thanked the Lodi Police Department, and particularly Urrea, for her hard work and commitment in the 2016 murders of Dorothy Weiderich and Alan Gregor.
