Earlier this month, Lilly Baker, 18, drove to meet some friends in Limestone County, Alabama. During the journey, she noticed a woman struggling to cross the railroad tracks on foot with her wheelchair. According to Baker, the woman, using her wheelchair, was walking along the train tracks.
However, she found herself stuck as it couldn’t clear the tracks. Immediately, Baker pulled up beside the tracks and offered to help. As she got to the scene, a train was fast approaching, with flashing lights and blaring horns.
“I got out of my car and went over to her. By the time I got to her, the lights started flashing on the train, and the horn was going off,” said Baker, an Athens, Alabama, resident. “I grabbed her from behind her arms, and I tried to pick her up and walk with her, and we fell.”
Without compromising, Baker made a second attempt to get the woman off the tracks; however, they fell again. “The train was so close to us, we had no time to go anywhere. It was a nerve-racking situation,” Baker further explained.
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In a final effort, with the train dangerously close, Baker recounted, “I grabbed as hard as I could to get her out of there.” Describing the moment, she mentioned pulling the woman by her jacket. Despite the imminent danger, Baker said she wasn’t concerned about her safety, stating, “I could not leave her there.”
Hence, Baker narrowly saved her life and the woman’s from the railroad accident. Afterward, a CSX railroad company employee informed Baker that the train came within less than 20 inches of hitting them. The sad reality was that the train clipped the woman’s feet, resulting in two broken ankles. In addition, the woman’s wheelchair was destroyed in the accident.
Baker recounted, “My adrenaline was rushing,” highlighting that she sat with the disoriented woman by the side of the train tracks. At that time, Baker wasn’t with her cell phone, but thankfully, she saw a nearby worker. Immediately, she instructed them to call for an ambulance.
“I was just sitting there crying,” Baker shared, mentioning that the train operator stopped and checked on them. According to information from the police, the woman, currently at the hospital, is recovering. Chief Jereme Robison of the Ardmore Police Department at the scene on February 5, 2024, stated, “It was a bad injury. But she’s going to be fine.”
In a bid to protect the woman’s privacy, the officials are withholding her name. However, Robinson is still in contact with the 53-year-old through a social worker. Furthermore, Robison noted that they couldn’t interview the woman for medical reasons.
He also explained that the woman lives in an apartment building across from the railroad, and on the day Baker saved her, she took a shortcut after she left her home. Moreover, Robison emphasized how remarkable it was for a teenager to display such courage to save a stranger.
Baker mentioned that her parents are proud and relieved that she and the woman are safe. In recognition of her heroism, the Limestone County Commission awarded Baker. Baker expressed her hope for others, saying, “I hope anybody in a position to help will do so with no hesitation.”
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