A sheriff's deputy has been honored for saving a child from an oncoming train in California.
Michael Castaneda, a deputy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, was recently sitting in his car at a railroad crossing in Redlands when the train began approaching the SUV that was sitting on the tracks, according to CBS affiliate KCAL.
Castaneda, who was off duty at the time, said he saw a woman exit the car after attempting to maneuver out of the gravel and remove a child from the vehicle.
Then, the former Marine saw the woman put the child down while she went to get another out. That's when he sprang into action.
"As soon as she put that child down, I heard the horn and to me, that was the start of a race," Castaneda recalled, per KCAL. "I started running to get that kid out of there."
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Cellphone video captured by @morenovalleymatters2024 and shared by the sheriff's department showed Castaneda sprint over to the vehicle, grab the child and escape the train’s path just in the nick of time.
The woman was able to escape with her other child on the opposite side of the tracks.
Castaneda has since been honored with the Meritorious Valor Award “for his heroic act,” according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
The agency said Castaneda’s actions are “a true example of courage and dedication to our community.”
"I think it was just the perfect timing for me to be somewhere," Castenada said, according to KCBS-TV.
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