(The Associated Press circulated the following on October 17.)
GREER, S.C. — A woman whose car got stuck on railroad tracks was rescued by a police officer moments before an Amtrak train carrying 180 passengers smashed into the vehicle.
“I am very, very grateful,” Betsy DeVall, 53, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
No major injuries were reported.
Police Sgt. Marcus O’Shields said he was parked nearby when he saw DeVall turn onto the tracks early Tuesday. Another officer told O’Shields by radio that a train was coming, but DeVall could not move the car.
“About the same time is when I heard the train coming and I started to coaxing the driver and telling her we need to get out of the vehicle, we need to get off these tracks,” O’Shields told CNN. “At first, I don’t think she realized what type of danger she was actually in until the train actually struck her vehicle.”
DeVall, of Williamston, said she was on her way to a friend’s house to stay overnight. She said she doesn’t see well at night and thought she was pulling onto a side road to “get out of the way of traffic” before calling her friend.
When she realized she’d actually turned onto train tracks, she tried to drive away.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to get off,’ but the wheels were spinning,” she said. “I’m terrified of train tracks.”
That’s when she turned and saw O’Shields.
DeVall said she had no idea a train was on its way but followed him immediately. “He said, ‘There’s no time. Get out of the car now,'” DeVall said.
DeVall, who works at a doctor’s office, said she went into shock and didn’t hear the train’s horn or see any lights as she walked away from the car.
Amtrak engineer Scott Lynch was going about 72 mph when he saw tail lights and O’Shields waving a flashlight, according to a police report. Lynch applied the emergency brakes, but could not stop the train in time.
A video from a dashboard camera in O’Shields’ cruiser showed DeVall’s car bursting into flames as the train pushed it down the tracks.
Two people on the train were treated with oxygen and one person suffered an injured knee, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell.
The train was delayed 5 1/2 hours, then continued its journey from New Orleans to New York City.