(Photo: Utah Highway Patrol)
CENTERVILLE, Utah — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper pulled a driver to safety just moments before a FrontRunner train crash between Pages and Parrish Lanes off I-15.
Trooper Ruben Correa told reporters it appeared the driver suffered some kind of medical emergency just before crashing through a fence and onto the tracks near Centerville.
Dashcam video from the trooper’s cruiser shows the officer rushing to the crash site to rescue the driver. Then, a FrontRunner train blares its horn, and you see the train smash into the car.
In the video shared by UHP on Twitter, you can hear Correa’s voice straining to relay the danger over the sound of the approaching train.
“We’ve got a train coming! “We’ve got a train coming!” he yelled.
Utah Transit Authority spokesman Carl Arky told Utah’s Morning News Correa’s quick actions prevented any injuries.
UTA initially reported that it was a Union Pacific railway worker that aided the individual in the vehicle but later confirmed that it was a UHP officer.
“I wasn’t really thinking; I was just doing my job,” Correa told reporters afterward.
Correa said the driver was unconscious when he pulled him from the vehicle; he did not elaborate on exactly what type of medical issue was to blame for the accident.
His lieutenant said Correa received a well-earned day off as a thank you for his hard work.
UTA officials used a bus bridge for much of the early morning commute to get FrontRunner riders around the accident. Delays stacked up quickly on I-15, where emergency vehicles staged to respond to the crash.
At one point, delays related to the train crash meant it took drivers two hours to get from Ogden to Salt Lake City.
