Check out the amazing life-saving work by Trp. Correa this morning! pic.twitter.com/O6du6AN9Oo
— Utah Highway Patrol (@UTHighwayPatrol) October 16, 2019
CENTERVILLE, Utah, Oct. 31, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper who pulled an unconscious man from a vehicle just moments before it was hit by a FrontRunner train in Centerville will appear on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on NBC Friday, airing in Utah at 3 p.m. on KSL-Channel 5..
A tweet from Utah Highway Patrol Thursday evening said: “We’re super stoked to have Trp. Ruben Correa representing the brave men and women of the Utah Highway Patrol on tomorrow’s broadcast of the #TheKellyClarksonShow! Tune in at 3 p.m. (that’s 1500 Troops) or set your DVRs, but don’t miss it.”
UHP Trooper Correa hit the headlines earlier this month when a northbound FrontRunner train and a vehicle made contact at approximately 6:50 a.m. Oct. 16 on a section of track between Pages and Parrish Lane.
Correa spoke with reporters after the incident and said he was on a traffic stop on northbound Interstate 15 just south of 200 West in Farmington at around 6:45 a.m.
“Dispatch advised me there was a vehicle possibly on top of the tracks near Centerville,” Correa said. “I explained to dispatch I was going to respond. I engaged my lights and sirens to get to the scene. I used my spotlight to track down where the possible vehicle could be on top of the tracks.”
Correa saw the vehicle, and notified dispatch there was a car on top of the tracks.
“At that point, I got out of my vehicle, ran up to the driver and I observed there was a driver still in the vehicle,” Correa said. “I saw he was unconscious so I opened his door, explained to him, we’ve got to get out, he wasn’t responding. And I heard the horn from a train.”
Correa said he looked to his left and saw the train was approaching at between 50 and 80 miles per hour.
“I got the driver out of there,” Correa added. “I assumed he was having a possible medical condition at that point, and just before I knew, that train hit that vehicle and we were able to make it out alive at that point. I think I got him out a second … just before the collision. At that point I wasn’t really thinking, I was just doing my job. The main concern was getting him out of the vehicle and back to his family.”
He said when the train hit the vehicle, the vehicle flew some 30 feet.
He added that he was glad he was so close to the location, since he pulled the man out of the car just moments before the train hit it.
“That was a lot closer than I would have liked,” Correa said. “Just a second later and it would have been a different outcome.”
He said he was able to talk to the man “and he was just very grateful we both made it out OK.” He added: “He was in danger and I had to get him out of the vehicle as quickly as possible.”
The website for Clarkson’s show says: “‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ will present the biggest newsmakers and names in film, television and music; as well as emerging new talent and people who are beacons of hope in their communities. Kelly will also connect with everyday people and everyday relatable issues.”
The dramatic rescue is shown in the video above.
