Watch: Man Seconds from Being Hit By Moving Train Saved by Police Officer
I have a confession to make, Liftable readers: I truly enjoy watching GIFs or videos of close calls and narrow escapes.
Most of the times, footage of these events comes from security cameras or distant bystanders. They provide a perspective that’s distant and removed, making the situations seem a little less dramatic.
Of course, it makes sense why people would stay far away. Who wants to willingly put his life in jeopardy?
Well, there’s a certain type of individual who runs toward danger rather than away from it. Think soldiers, firefighters, first responders — and police officers.
This story involves a rookie cop who put himself in imminent peril to save a complete stranger. The officer’s name is Kyle Savoia.
The 22-year-old officer has only worn the blue for seven months. However, serving and protecting is part of his family’s heritage.
His father and grandfather were both parts of the Perth Amboy, New Jersey, police force. Savoia and his brother Kevin Savoia Jr. both joined the Perth Amboy City Police Department on January 18.
Even though Savoia must’ve known what police life would be like, the call he received on July 19 took his breath away — literally.
Savoia was dispatched because someone had reported seeing a person asleep on the train tracks. The dispatchers had contacted NJ Transit to stop the train.
However, when the officer arrived, the train was still on its way. Worse than that was the fact that the person on the tracks hadn’t moved.
The Perth Amboy City Police Department released footage of Savoia’s arrival on the scene. The first things you notice are perspectives and the sound.
The video opens with the camera juttering back and forth and up and down, a chaotic bouncing that seems ready to induce nausea. You heard a rhythmic “chunk chunk chunk” as Savoia’s gear shifts, showing that he’s running.
Then you hear something else: the blaring of a train whistle. Savoia begins running faster, desperately trying to get to the person on the tracks and yelling, “Hey, bud! Hey, move!”
“He started running toward the train,” bystander Heidi Burke told WPIX. “The train was not slowing down at all.
“He was just waving his arms, yelling for it to stop. You heard like, screeching, and trying to brake, and you saw, literally, like, a real-life hero.
“He just jumped in front of the train. I saw the red shirt and a body attached to it go flying to one side and the cop going to the other and the train actually pulled in between them.”
The person on the tracks, who’d inadvertently fallen asleep there, was startled into action by Savoia’s shouts, which likely saved his life. “As police officers, our job is to make quick decisions in difficult situations and to act on them,” Savoia said.
“At the end of the day, all that matters is everyone gets home safe. Also, at such an early stage of my career, to be able to make an impactful difference in a person’s life is incredible and makes me love what I do every day.’
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