A 27-year-old driver’s life was saved Wednesday night, less than two minutes before a train slammed into his car.
Police said the driver’s GPS directed him to turn right onto Railroad Street from Main Street in Fairport. Instead, he mistakenly turned onto the railroad tracks and became stuck.
Two good Samaritans who raced to get the driver out of his car said they had roughly 40 seconds to save a life.
BACKGROUND: Car struck by train in Fairport; citizen aids driver’s escape
“As soon as we started talking, the railroad crossing started going down,” recalled Larry Johncox, one of the two bystanders who sprung into action. “We just had to get out of the way.”
While driving down Main Street in Fairport with his family, Johncox said he saw the whole incident unfold.
“I knew a train was going to be coming, but still, I just wanted to try helping him,” Johncox said. “I couldn’t lift it. It bothered me so much that I couldn’t help, but I tried flagging down another gentleman.”
That gentleman was volunteer firefighter Bill Evans.
“We know that we have about 3/4 of a mile between when the train activates that signal and when it’s going to be at our Main Street crossing, so know we’ve got no time,” Evans said.
“I was yelling, I was trying (to tell him) to get out, I was trying to lift the car, I was trying to do everything,” Johncox added.
Evans said the driver was in a state of shock, but he and Johncox eventually managed to convince him to leave his car.
“We’ve had that situation where people have panicked and not gotten out of their car, and it’s been tragic results,” Evans said.
All three men got off the tracks just moments before the train struck the car.
“It just took it down the track,” Johncox recalled. “It was so crazy.”
Evans estimates he’s responded to more than three dozen incidents on the train tracks over his 43 years of service.
“I was there for a reason,” Evans said. “I don’t know why our paths crossed for the right reason, and I’m blessed that I was there.”
Connor Johncox, Larry’s son, was taking cover in his family’s car during the incident. He briefly feared his father was still on the tracks at the moment of the impact.
“He is sort of a hero,” Connor said.
Police said neither drugs nor alcohol contributed to the crash.