A teenage girl in Tennessee is being hailed a hero for risking her life to save another person.
Earlier this month, Lily Baker, 18, saved a woman in a wheelchair from getting hit by a train at a railroad crossing in Giles County with only seconds to spare, according to local news WTVF, WKRN and WAFF.
Baker told WTVF that she spotted the woman in need of help crossing the tracks in her wheelchair while she was driving. The teen said she had gotten out of her car to help the handicapped woman get to the other side when she noticed a train heading their way on the tracks.
“He was honking his horn and the lights started flashing. I was like, 'Oh no, we gotta go now,' " she recalled.
Baker said, per WAFF, that the woman in the wheelchair told her that she couldn’t walk and “was hurting,” so she picked her up and tried to get her to the other side herself.
Ardmore Police Chief Jereme Robison told WKRN that the pair fell on the tracks, but Baker was able to get up and pull the woman out of the way.
“She barely gets herself out of the way; and the train actually still clips the lady’s leg and spins her around,” Robison said, adding, “I mean, it was like split second. They almost died.”
He also told the outlet that the handicapped woman sustained injuries to her legs during the rescue and was sent to the hospital, but was expected to make a recovery. Her wheelchair, however, did not make it out intact.
Baker, who is a high school senior studying to be a nurse, told WTVF that she did not take what happened lightly.
“It’s a near-death experience, and I’ve never really been that close to death," she said. “[The railroad company] told me that I was 18 inches away from getting hit by the train, and that in itself gave me the chills. I almost started crying."
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Still, she told WKRN that she did not regret trying to help, stating, “If I did die, I would have died trying to save somebody, so it would have been okay.”
Robison praised Baker for her courage to step in, even during a frightening situation.
“Bravery comes in all shapes and sizes,” he told the outlet. “You don’t have to be a 6’5" guy that’s muscled up to get out and do something. This is a little small young woman, and she’s done what most people wouldn’t do.”