VIENNA, Ga. — The Vienna Mayor is being hailed as a hero after saving a mother and her three children before a train crashed into their vehicle Saturday morning.
Vienna Police say the woman faces charges including driving under the influence and child endangerment.
Mayor Eddie Daniels says he was just at the right place, at the right time.
He says he's usually in bed at 3:45 a.m. on a Saturday, but on October 8th, he was called into work at Goldens' Foundry and Machine Company in Cordele. On his way in, he drove up on a black Chevrolet suburban stopped on a railroad crossing.
Daniels says as he got closer, he saw a woman inside, 26-year-old Rodreka Morgan. She was frantically honking the car's horn.
"I said your car is on the tracks. She said it won't move," Daniels said.
But then, Daniels heard a train off in the distance moving toward them.
"I said ma'am we gotta get off this track. She said my car won't move. I said we ain't gonna worry about the car right now," Daniels said.
He says Morgan struggled but finally managed to unlock the doors. Daniels says he snatched her out of the car.
"She said you gotta get my baby out. You gotta get my baby out," Daniels said.
But it wasn't just one child. It was three kids--a one-year-old, a three-year-old, and a six-year-old.
"I pulled two of the kids out, and I thought I had enough time to pull the last one out and when I grabbed that last child, the train hit," Daniels said.
The Vienna Police Chief says the impact knocked back the car yards, jolting Daniels to the ground.
"It knocked me foolish for a few minutes," Daniels said.
Today, the mayor is recovering from his injuries-- a broken ankle and a large cut to his head where he had to have several stitches.
"I knew it had to have been God who shielded me. When you get between an SUV and a train, you know you're in harm's way. But again, those children and that mother is safe. I feel like that was probably God's calling," Daniels said.
Daniels says the doctors told him he'll have to have surgery to fix his ankle. But he says he's okay with that knowing Morgan and her three children are alive and safe.
Vienna Police say the Georgia State Patrol determined Morgan had alcohol in her system at the time of the crash.
The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the accident.
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