HPD officer pulls sleeping man out of car seconds before train slams into it

The man had driven across Main Street at Hiram Clark Road, hit a stop sign and then got stuck on the tracks.

HOUSTON, Texas – A Houston Police officer is credited with saving a man's life, pulling him out of a car just seconds before a train slammed into it.

That man had driven across Main Street at Hiram Clark Road, hit a stop sign and then got stuck on the railroad tracks. Officer Ingrid Pinzon said within seconds of getting on the scene, she heard the train's horn and she knew she had to act fast.

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"I started moving the guy. I told him, 'Hey dude... wake up! The train is coming!' Nothing," said Officer Pinzon.

Officer Pinzon said she had just started her shift and pulled over after seeing a car with its hazards on the side of the road. Then, two passers-by told her a man was passed out in a vehicle on the tracks. It was completely dark but she could hear the train coming.

"I got down on my knees and I put him over me... I started walking," said Pinzon.

Pinzon said the driver, Renauldo Walker, 29, appeared to be under the influence and marijuana was found in his pocket. He wasn't a small man, weighing about 240 pounds. She still doesn't know how she managed to lift him up and carry him to safety.

"At the time, all I could think about was, 'get him out of the car... I guess it was adrenaline," said Pinzon.

Pinzon was recently recognized for her actions, receiving the Houston Police Department's lifesaving award. She said she joined the department to change lives and on that day, she was just doing her job.

Walker wasn't injured, but is facing a charge of possession of marijuana.