Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Surveillance video shows Brinindune Taylor rescuing a driver stuck on tracks.
- Taylor helped the woman seconds before a train hit her car in Springville.
- Both Taylor and the train engineer were praised for preventing any injuries.
SPRINGVILLE — Newly obtained surveillance video showed a narrow escape from a railroad track Saturday night, as a man helped a driver from her car seconds before a train hit it.
Brinindune Taylor said he was on his way to visit a friend at around 9 p.m. when he saw what appeared to be a car stuck on the tracks at the railroad crossing near 400 North and 400 West.
"I just thought maybe I could help her off the tracks, maybe even get her car off," Taylor told KSL-TV during an interview Monday. "And then the train came."
Taylor said as he approached the driver, it appeared she was confused in some way as she was speaking on the phone with dispatch.
"The lady was a little disorganized thinking, a little disoriented," he explained of the initial encounter. "It sounded like she just wanted to sit in her car and get emergency services out there and potentially to just kind of be rescued that way."
As the crossing sounded and Taylor could see the lights of the train approaching, the situation turned urgent.
"(I) just let her know that, hey, we've got to get out of here now," Taylor said.
Surveillance video from a neighboring business obtained by KSL via the Springville Police Department showed Taylor help the woman away from the car approximately eight seconds before impact.
Though Springville Fire & Rescue hailed Taylor as a "citizen hero" in a post on social media, Taylor saw it differently.
"It was at least let her know the reality of the situation and the way things are going and just make sure she gets out and doesn't stumble on the tracks — it wasn't that hard of a job," Taylor said. "It really was just, I mean, God's will — this is, all the glory goes to God."
Firefighters also commended the work of the train's engineer in the social post, noting the engineer slowed the train as Taylor was helping the woman to safety.
"A great job by the BNSF Engineer also saved her life, due to his attentiveness and quick action," the post stated. "The BNSF supervisor said it is not normal to slow as fast and as safely as he did, feathering 5 engines brakes."
Taylor said, though the woman's car was badly mangled, he was grateful that the timing worked out for everyone to escape without injury.
"I'm glad she's fine, I'm glad I'm fine," Taylor said. "It worked out great — nobody got hurt, so kind of best-case scenario, all things considered."
