LODI—On Wednesday, August 12, around 8:44 a.m., Officer Erika Urrea saved a man from an oncoming train whose wheelchair got stuck on the tracks. Urrea and Sergeant Steve Maynard were patrolling near Lodi Avenue when she spotted the 66-year-old man in a wheelchair sitting on the tracks with the railroad crossing arms coming down.
Urrea’s body cam video shows her hastily pulling over and parking her vehicle. She sprints toward the man and tries to push him and his wheelchair off the tracks, but video shows the wheelchair lodged between the railroad track and cement. She grabs the man’s arm and pulls him from his chair, narrowly avoiding the train. They both fall to the ground. The man sustained a leg injury. Urrea immediately called for an ambulance.
Officer Delgado and Urrea tended to the man’s injuries before he received transportation to a local hospital for 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,” said the Lodi Police Department via Facebook.
