GILES COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — An 18-year-old girl is being called a hero after she jumped in to save a stranger struck on the railroad tracks last week.
Lilly Baker was driving to meet friends in Giles County when she noticed an older woman struggling to cross the tracks with a wheelchair.
Lilly tells you her miraculous story in the player above.
In a matter of seconds, she gets out of her car, rushes over, and tries to pull the woman to safety, but they fall twice.
That's when she notices the train coming right at them.
“He was honking his horn and the lights started flashing I was like, 'Oh no, we gotta go now!'" remembered Baker.
She said she pulled the woman and herself out of the way at the very last second.
“It’s a near-death experience, and I’ve never really been that close to death," she said. “[The railroad company] told me that I was 18 inches away from getting hit by the train, and that in itself gave me the chills. I almost started crying."
Ardmore Police Chief Jereme Robison, who responded to the scene, says he has seen a lot, but nothing like this.
“It hits home like, 'Oh my god, it was that close,'" he said. “Bravery comes in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have to be a 6’5 guy that’s muscled up to get out and do something. This is a little small young woman, and she done what most people wouldn’t do.”
Lilly says she would do it all over again if she could.
“I’d tell [the woman] that I’m thankful for her. She doesn’t have to be thankful for me because I’m grateful for her," she said.
Lilly is a senior in high school right now. She says she wants to be a nurse in the future.
The woman Lilly saved is in the hospital and recovering. She has major leg injuries but is expected to be OK.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
