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SUNSET — A police officer in Davis County is being called a hero after he pulled an intoxicated man from his wrecked SUV just before an oncoming train struck it.
Sunset Police Sgt. Brett Jamison was called to the area near the train tracks on a report of a hit-and-run on city property. Some parked work trucks had been damaged and a fence was knocked over. A man driving an SUV had allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign on 1800 North and had driven across the street and plowed into the fence.
Jamison said it was extremely dark that night and he initially didn't notice anything else wrong at the scene.
"Out of the corner of my eye, I observed a reflector-type light in this direction over here toward the tracks," Jamison said.
Jamison said he then spotted another broken fence and some tire tracks near the train tracks and found the wrecked SUV had stopped directly on the train tracks. FrontRunner trains travel at speeds up to 80 miles per hour, and when Jamison found a man in the wrecked vehicle that had stopped on the train tracks, he had to react quickly to save the man from being hit by an oncoming train.
"Trains do travel along these tracks at 80 miles an hour," Jamison said. "I just ended up dragging him about 15, 20 feet before the train actually impacted the vehicle."
Jamison said the incident occurred in about 15 seconds so he had to react quickly to save the man's life.
"That's when the realization actually hits you," Jamison said. "How close everything happened and how quick things happened that night. (I) happened to be in the right spot at the right time that night. I'm just glad it turned out the way it did."
Investigators said the driver was intoxicated and Jamison said the man collapsed as he initially freed him from the SUV. Jamison said he's lucky he saw the tail light.
"I'm not too convinced he knows the full extent of what exactly occurred and how close things came that night," Jamison said.
Jamison said he just did what any officer would do, and that he doesn't see himself as a hero. Regardless, he is being recognized by Sunset City for his service.
