Good Samaritan rescues woman stuck on Metra tracks before crash

WESTERN SPRINGS, Ill. (WLS) -- A Good Samaritan's quick actions are credited with saving the life of an elderly driver who made a wrong turn onto some train tracks Monday night in suburban Western Springs. ABC7 Eyewitness News spoke with the man being hailed a hero.

As he drove up to the railroad crossing, Ed Suarez noticed something strange happening with car in front of him.

"I just saw her turning into the tracks and I'm screaming in my car, 'this is not happening, this isn't happening'," Suarez said.

It was dark and raining when an 80-year old woman driving that car meant to turn on Wolf Road, but instead turned onto the actual train tracks and began driving down rail line.

"I came to the passenger side and said, 'Open the door, open the door.' She opened the door. I said, 'Ma'am, you are on the tracks and we need to get you out,'" Suarez said.

In the distance, Suarez could see lights quickly approaching. A Metra train was coming in their direction.

"I thought, 'Awww, this is not good,' and I opened the door and said 'We gotta go, we gotta go,' and she said, 'I can't walk'," Suarez said.

Another bystander helped Suarez drag the woman out of the car just over this sidewalk, but when police arrived, they realized another danger.

"With a train moving this fast, debris and pieces of the vehicle could still go airborne after the train strikes something, so they were able to, between them, themselves and the squad cars, shield this woman," said Deputy Chief Brian Budds, Western Springs Police Dept.

Seconds later a Metra train side swiped the car, causing only minor damage.

"Hero is a big word. I was at the right place at the right time. That's all it was," Suarez said.

The woman was taken to a hospital in La Grange and was later released. She didn't want to go on camera, but her family said she wanted to thank the bystanders and first responders.