Railroad Rescue : Two Motorists Pull Man From Stalled Car Seconds Before Train Flattens It

He would like to come over and shake the hands of two men who saved his life, Norman Henshaw says. Except that he doesn’t have a car anymore.

His was flattened by an Amtrak passenger train--seconds after Dean Atkins and Byron Hines yanked him out of its driver’s seat.

“I’d certainly like to say thanks,” the 73-year-old retired South Gate carpet layer said Friday. “I couldn’t have done it by myself. My legs aren’t as good as they used to be.”

Henshaw’s close call came at 6:45 p.m. Thursday after he mistakenly turned onto railroad tracks that bisect a five-way intersection in Santa Fe Springs, about 16 miles southeast of Downtown Los Angeles.

His 1987 Ford LTD traveled about 50 feet away from the paved crossing before bogging down in the gravel track bed, its left front tire straddling one rail.

That is where Atkins and Hines spotted him as his auto’s rear tires whirred futilely.

Atkins, 35, of Rancho Santa Margarita had just left a nearby manufacturing plant where he works as a supervisor.

Hines, 44, a former championship motorcycle racer from Santa Fe Springs, was finished for the day at the high-performance motorcycle parts shop where he is vice president.

The pair, who had never met, jumped out of their cars and ran down the tracks to help.

“A bunch of people were yelling at him from the other side of the fence to get out, that he was on the railroad tracks,” Atkins said.

“Dean shouted over to me that trains come through here all day long and we’d better hurry,” Hines said.

“Sure enough, right as he said that, the crossing bells started clanging and we looked back and saw the train’s lights coming.”

It took some doing getting Henshaw out, however.

“He told us he had to get his car keys,” Atkins said. “We grabbed his arms but we were afraid to yank and break them,” Hines said.

Henshaw’s foot became wedged beneath the driver’s seat as they tugged at him. By the time they wiggled it free, the Amtrak train--its engine pushing the southbound passenger cars from behind--was barreling down at them at 55 m.p.h.

“We carried him from the car. We were about 30 feet away when the train hit the car,” Hines said. “Motorcycle racing is kind of sedate compared to what happened.”

“We covered up our heads so we wouldn’t get hit by flying debris. It looked like something right out of the movies,” Atkins said.

The men are heroes, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. “If they hadn’t stopped to help, I doubt if he could have made it out,” Lt. Wally Lampe said.

The car was mangled by the impact. Or, as Henshaw put it: “The front two-thirds was squished to the floor.”

Henshaw said he had been on his way to a nearby hospital to visit his wife, Viola, who broke her arm and leg Wednesday in a fall at home. He said another motorist’s headlights blinded him as he traveled through the asterisk-shaped intersection of Marquardt and Rosecrans avenues and Stage Road.

Instead of turning right onto Stage from eastbound Rosecrans, Henshaw turned right onto the railroad tracks that parallel Stage.

The train continued on its way after authorities determined that Henshaw was unhurt and the train’s front car was undamaged. Henshaw’s son, Dennis Henshaw of Downey, drove him home.

Henshaw said he did not tell his wife the reason he never made it to visit her Thursday night. His son was going to drive him there late Friday so he could explain what happened.

Why the delay?

“I’m a hell of a poor liar,” Henshaw said.