A Southern California deputy was recognized with a prestigious hero award on Thursday for saving a child from a car before it was struck by a train in San Bernardino County.
The dramatic rescue in Redlands, which was caught on film on Sept. 20, 2024, earned San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy and Perris resident Michael Anthony Castaneda the Carnegie Medal award.
According to a Carnegie Hero Fund Commission spokesperson, 38-year-old Castaneda was off duty when it happened. He was driving behind an SUV, which, unbeknownst to Castaneda at the time, was carrying a mother and her two daughters.
Then, as the SUV was crossing the train tracks, Castaneda saw the crossing arms come down on either side of the family’s car, which then stopped on the tracks between the two gates. “Castaneda observed the woman exit the SUV to retrieve her 2-year-old daughter from the back seat on the driver’s side and stood her next to the vehicle, still on the tracks, in the path of an oncoming freight train moving about 10 m.p.h.,” detailed the spokesperson. “The mother then partially entered the backseat to help the girl’s 5-year-old sister out of her car seat.”
It was at this moment that Castaneda realized the mother would not be able to usher her two kids to safety in time. He got out of his car, sprinted about 50 feet to the SUV and grabbed the toddler to carry her to safety — while at the same time, the mother emerged carrying the 5-year-old to the other side of the tracks — mere seconds before the oncoming train crashed into their car.
Castaneda then returned the girl to her mother, and no one was harmed.
“The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission awards the Carnegie Medal to individuals from throughout the United States and Canada who risk themselves to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others,” stated the spokesperson. “The Carnegie Medal is considered North America’s highest civilian honor for heroism.”
