By james art 
REDLANDS, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS) – An off-duty California deputy put his life on the line to save a child as a train sped toward a boxcar stuck on the railroad tracks. The dramatic moments were captured on video.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Castaneda made a split-second decision to run in front of a moving train to save the life of a child on a rural road in Redlands. Cell phone video shows Castaneda picking up the child as the train zooms dangerously close to them.
“I knew there was something going on and something had to be done quickly,” said the deputy.
Castaneda was off duty at the time of the incident in September and was on his way home from work. He was behind a car at a railroad crossing when the gate began to close.
“It started a very quick process in my head of what was going on, especially when I saw that car trying to maneuver off the side of the road and ended up stuck in the gravel,” Castaneda said.
While the driver was stuck on the tracks, she did not run away from the oncoming train but instead got back into the car, according to Castaneda.
“At that point it dawned on me very quickly that there was probably a child in the back or another passenger in the vehicle, and this train was coming really close,” the deputy chairman said.
The mother put one child on the ground and got back into the car for a second child. All the while the train was getting closer.
“As soon as she put that kid down, I heard the horn and for me that was the start of the race. I just started running to get that kid out of there,” Castaneda said. “Time slowed down, but it was seconds.”
Then the video begins, showing the deputy lifting the child to the ground and running away. Cuddling her other child, the mother ran in the opposite direction.
“I think it was the perfect time for me to be somewhere,” Castaneda said.
As a former Marine, the lawmaker says he didn’t ask questions about what to do.
“What I do for my job, what I’ve done in the past, is just help people,” he said.
Castaneda was later awarded the Meritorious Service Award for saving the child. The sheriff’s department described him as “a true example of courage and dedication to our community.”
Despite the positive ending to the story, Castaneda says it’s also a reminder that you should never cross train tracks unless you know you can safely get to the other side.
“When there’s no room on the other side of the tracks, don’t start crossing the tracks,” he said.
Because when seconds count and choices are made, it’s easy to see how this could have ended differently.
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