A U.S. mayor sustained ankle and head injuries while rescuing a mother and three children, seconds after a train slammed into their cars parked on the tracks.
Eddie Daniels was on his way to work in Vienna, Georgia, when he spotted a black SUV on the rails as a train approached quickly.
He helped his mother out first, then found three children in the back seat – a six, a three and a one.
(Photo: Vienna Police Department)
He was helping the six-year-old, who had rescued two young children when the train crashed into the vehicle.
Mr Daniels said he remembered being caught between the train and the SUV but still managed to get the last child out.
The wrecked vehicle landed a few feet from where it was struck, and the mayor suffered a fractured ankle and eight stitches to his head.
“I can’t have those babies sitting there being slaughtered by trains,” Mr Daniels told WALB-TV.
Mayor Eddie Daniels (Image: Facebook)
The second mayor added: “I’m here just doing God’s work. That’s what we’re supposed to do.
“They told me I was a hero.
“I said I don’t feel like a hero, I just feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, what people elect me to do.”