Saad Ahmad Chaudry saved Francisco Orozco from being struck by a train, Niles, Illinois, July 21, 2001. Late at night, Orozco, 44, remained in the driver’s seat of his car, which had left the highway at a railroad crossing and came to rest on the tracks. The passenger of another car at the scene, Chaudry, 20, college student, witnessed the incident. He ran to Orozco’s car as the crossing’s warning mechanisms activated, signaling the approach of a high-speed train that was then about a half-mile away. With less than a minute’s clearance, Chaudry shouted at Orozco to get out of the car, but Orozco remained seated there. As the train bore down at undiminished speed, Chaudry opened the driver’s door and, the train’s light then on them, pulled Orozco from the vehicle. He fell backward, Orozco atop him. The train went into emergency braking at the scene but struck the car, demolishing it and pushing it down the track. Neither Orozco nor Chaudry was injured seriously.
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