A life has been saved thanks to a young man who acted heroically at 6 a.m. Monday morning by running to the police station and inform them that a car had stalled on the railroad tracks 100 yards away.
"I never thought about. I just knew I couldn't let that man get crushed by a train." said James Laboke, 17, who walks the same path every morning to work at the Eezy Breezy Restaurant.
Laboke found the car on the tracks with an unconscious man at the wheel. He tried pounding on the window by the man was unresponsive. Laboke then ran 100 yards to the Old Orchard Beach police station that sent out a call for help.
Janet Paradiso, the captain of the force was only a mile away when the call went out. Police say that as she arrived on the scene, she could hear a whistle in the distance. Acting on impulses she then rammed the vehicle with her cruiser, pushing it off the tracks. Thirty seconds later, the train rushed past.
“I knew there was no time. I had to do something.” Said Paradiso afterwards.
Brian Paul, chief of police announced these events in the police report.
“It was that close,” Paul said.
The man was later identified as 80-year-old Francois Truffaut from Quebec City, Canada. He was listed in stable condition, and also listed acknowledged he was a diabetic.
“I don’t remember a thing.” Truffaut said while recovering at Southern Maine Medical Center. He may have gone into insulin shock while crossing the tracks.
After reporting the stalled car Laboke reported to work on time without reporting anything to his boss, Charles Champaigne.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Champaigne said. “That young man is one of my most responsible employees. He’s just a great kid.”
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