Video shows police officer pulling man off railroad tracks before oncoming train. Video / Lodi Police Department
A US police officer's heroic actions have gone viral after video emerged showing the moment she dragged in a man in wheelchair from the path of a speeding train, saving his life.
Erika Urrea was on patrol in Lodi, California, when she saw the 66-year-old man in a wheelchair, apparently stuck on train tracks as the barriers descended and a train approached.
"So I happen to kind of look to the side and notice there was a man in a wheelchair, and he seemed to be almost wiggling, like he was stuck," Urrea told NBC Nightly News.
What followed was captured by Urrea's body camera and shows the veteran cop race to the man's aid.
The man's wheelchair was stuck on the tracks. Photo / Supplied
The man was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Urrea told NBC that it was confronting to watch the video again.
"I was trying to figure out 'OK, where's the train? I don't know how fast the train is going. How much time do I have?' But my goal was, 'I need to get him off the tracks'," Urrea said.
"Honestly, it seems like I'm watching someone else's video. It's very surreal ... it was scary to watch."
Lodi police officer Erika Urrea is a 14-year police veteran. Photo / Supplied
"As the incident happened very quickly we believe the chair wheel was stuck in the groove between the railroad track and the cement," Lodi police said on Facebook.
The video has racked up millions of views online since it was released but Urrea is playing down her efforts.
"I honestly don't think I did anything special. I know all the people that I work with would have done the same thing," she said.
"I just did what I felt that anybody in my situation would have done and something that I felt like, if that was my family member or friend that was stuck, I would want someone to come out and help."
