Arizona Trooper Pulls Unconscious 300 Pound Man From Car Seconds Before Train Hits It

January 28, 2018

An Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper has been credited with saving a man's life after he dragged an unresponsive driver out of a car that was hit by a train seconds later.

Henry Roanhorse / Arizona Department of Public Safety

In a press release, the DPS said trooper Henry Roanhorse was driving home when he spotted the car on railroad tracks in McKinley County, New Mexico, which is just across the Arizona state line.

Roanhorse approached the vehicle and found the 56-year-old driver, Sampson Whitegoat, unconscious behind the wheel. He crawled into the vehicle to take off Whitegoat's seat belt as a train rounded a nearby curve.

Roanhorse pulled Whitegoat out of the vehicle — despite Whitegoat, who had regained consciousness, fighting against him — and dragged his 300-pound body about 25 feet from the tracks.

Seconds later, the train collided with the car and threw it 150 feet.

Roanhorse said Whitegoat thanked him for saving his life.