SUNNYVALE, Calif. (KTVU) -- Two San Mateo County Sheriff deputies on Tuesday said their instincts kicked in when they helped drag a driver to safety seconds before a Caltrain slammed into his car Monday evening.
Video posted on YouTube captured the dramatic rescue by deputies Lance Whitted and Erik Rueppel.
"This unfolded in front of us," said Rueppel. "We had to do something so you don't think whether it's heroic or not. You just have to be safe for one thing. We don't want to become a casualty in this situation."
Whitted and Rueppel were at the Mary Avenue crossing when around 6:30 p.m., they saw a car skidding through the intersection, crash into the crossing gate pole before coming to rest on the railroad. A train had left the Sunnyvale Caltrain station heading northbound going 45 miles per hour.
Deputy Rueppel waved to slow the train down yet the engineer was already past the half mile mark needed to stop.
“The train was coming at that point when he wasn't responding I knew I had to take control of the situation and physically remove him from train and pull him to safety,” said Whitted.
Police said the driver, identified as 20-year-old Nelson Gomez was under the influence. Deputy Whitted grabbed his arm, pulling and dragging him 10 feet away from the train.
“I say why I did it or why someone else wouldn't do it,” said Whitted. “At that point instincts just kick in. You don't have time to analyze the situation. I knew my job to work in law enforcement is to preserve life that's what I did.”
Whitted told KTVU the moment of clarity didn't come until after watching the video realizing he and that driver could have been killed. He saved saving a life was one of the greatest accomplishments as a sheriff deputy.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said Gomez hit a parked car and bike right before the crash. He was arrested and cited for DUI, hit and run, driving without a license and a probation violation.