Disabled woman rescued after falling on train tracks in Illinois

BROOKFIELD, Ill. -- A woman who fell out of her wheelchair while crossing train tracks was saved by a Good Samaritan just seconds before a Metra train passed by.

One of the wheels of that wheelchair apparently got stuck in the tracks. A woman and her husband were in harm's way until a village worker stepped in.

Surveillance video shows the train barely missing the couple, but a tragedy was averted thanks to Andy Zontos.

"Just saw that. I just had to help. The train was coming. So I just did what I had to do," Zontos said.

Zontos, who works for Brookfield Public Works, was in his truck Tuesday morning right along the tracks at the Brookfield Metra station.

The video shows the man pushing his wife in a wheelchair, but as they attempt to cross, one of the wheels gets caught in the tracks. The woman falls to the ground as the arriving train speeds towards them.

"I got out of my truck. I ran towards her. I was able to grab her from her jacket and her back and actually dragged her to safety," Zontos said.

The train barely missed them.

The husband said that he and his wife are disabled and that they started to cross the tracks before the crossing arms came down, but because he has a prosthetic leg, he couldn't push his wife fast enough.

That husband, however, was given a $500 ticket. But the price could've been much higher.

"By the time I pulled her off the tracks, the train had basically stopped right there. So he wouldn't have stopped in time," Zontos said. "Just thankful that it all came, everything came out okay."

That husband says he twisted his ankle, and his wife suffered some scrapes. But both are just fine and thankful for Zontos.