A 96-year-old Illinois woman was rescued Monday night by a police officer and two Good Samaritans who carried her out of her car moments before a Metra train smashed into it, reports said.
Antoinette Lazarra was trapped inside her 2006 Lincoln Zephyr when it got stuck on the railroad crossing in Lombard, just outside Chicago, around 8:30 p.m., police said. She had lost control of the vehicle and driven onto the tracks, authorities said. When she tried to drive to safety, her car’s tires just spun, witnesses told a reporter.
As a Metra train barreled toward the stranded woman, bystanders Steve Spapperi and Justin Mueller and Lombard police Officer Dan Herrera sprung into action, Chicago’s WGN-TV reported. They pulled Lazarra out of her vehicle just moments before the train crashed into it, the report said. No injuries were reported.
Lazarra’s family had reported her missing from Burr Ridge at 8 a.m. Monday, the Chicago Daily Herald reported.
“It was a heart-stopping moment when we saw how close we were to the train,” Herrera said, adding that he was glad for the help from the two bystanders. “I say the community of Lombard helped prevent a tragic accident and turn it into a happy story.”
