Calif. Deputy Saves Child Moments Before Train Crashes into SUV: ‘The Perfect Timing’

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Getty

Getty

A sheriff’s deputy has been honored for saving a child from an oncoming train in California.

Michael Castaneda, a deputy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, was recently sitting in his car at a railroad crossing in Redlands when the train began approaching the SUV that was sitting on the tracks, according toCBS affiliate KCAL.

Castaneda, who was off duty at the time, said he saw a woman exit the car after attempting to maneuver out of the gravel and remove a child from the vehicle.

Then, the former Marine saw the woman put the child down while she went to get another out. That’s when he sprang into action.

“As soon as she put that child down, I heard the horn and to me, that was the start of a race,” Castaneda recalled, per KCAL. “I started running to get that kid out of there.”

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Deputy Michael Castaneda has been honored with the Meritorious Valor Award for his heroic act of saving a child from the train tracks.San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department/X

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department/X

The woman was able to escape with her other child on the opposite side of the tracks.

Castaneda has since been honored with the Meritorious Valor Award “for his heroic act,” according to theSan Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The agency said Castaneda’s actions are “a true example of courage and dedication to our community.”

source: people.com