Verdigris Officer Honored For Rescuing Woman From Wreck On Train Tracks

Verdigris Officer Honored For Rescuing Woman From Wreck On Train Tracks

A Verdigris Police Officer is being honored for saving a woman's life.

She got stuck inside a car that had flipped over onto the railroad and it was all caught on the officer's body camera.

Officer Anthony Martinez was out on his normal patrol when he heard a constant car horn.

He followed that sound to the middle of the train tracks and couldn't believe his eyes.

19 minutes had gone by as Officer Anthony Martinez tried to track down a piercing car horn.

"I heard a horn. Started investigating and I look over and saw a light and I came over here," said Anthony Martinez, Verdigris Police Officer on bodycam.

There she was: a woman stuck in the middle of the train tracks.

"She is upside down in the vehicle still alive. Her hand is outside the vehicle under the car," said Martinez, on bodycam.

"At that point I didn't care if I was gonna get hit. My job was to get there and get her safe," said Martinez.

Officer Martinez said the woman was coming off 266, onto 66 in Verdigris when she had a medical episode.

"She just said help. And there I was, to help," said Martinez.

"Are you okay? Okay are you the only one in here? Okay. Is anything hurting?" said Martinez, on bodycam.

Martinez said as the woman was exiting off the highway, she drove straight instead of turning, hit an embankment and flipped her car.

"I was told by the train company that a priority train was coming through at max speed," said Martinez.

"Shut down the railroad," said Martinez on bodycam. Martinez stayed by her side.

"I've got help coming," said Martinez on bodycam. They waited for help.

"Fire departments almost here, okay," said Martinez on bodycam. He said help came, like it always does.

"She said she can't feel her left side and she says she has blood coming from her head," said Martinez on bodycam.

Firefighters lifted the car and got the woman out and got her help. Martinez said he was just doing his job.

"I absolutely love my job. I can't see myself doing anything else," said Martinez on bodycam.

Officer Martinez received a life saving award at last week's Town Council Meeting.