An off-duty deputy runs in front of a train to save a child from the tracks.

REDLANDS, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS) – An off-duty California state deputy risked his life to save a child as a train quickly approached a car stuck on the tracks. The dramatic moments were captured on video.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Castaneda made a split-second decision to run in front of a moving train to save the life of a child on a rural road in Redlands. Cell phone video shows Castaneda picking up the child as the train comes dangerously close to them.

“I knew something was going on and something needed to be done quickly,” the deputy said.

At the time of the September incident, Castaneda was off duty and on his way home from work. He was behind a car at a railroad crossing when the gates began to close.

“My mind very quickly started to process what was happening, especially when I saw the car try to leave the road and end up stuck in the gravel,” Castaneda said.

According to Castaneda, while the driver was stuck on the tracks, she did not run away from the oncoming train, but instead returned to the carriage.

“At that point it dawned on me very quickly that there was probably a child or another passenger in the carriage back there and that the train was coming very close,” the deputy said.

The mother placed one child on the ground and climbed back into the car behind the second child. Meanwhile the train was approaching.

“As soon as she put the baby down, I heard the buzzer and for me that was the start of the race. I just ran to get this child out of there,” Castaneda said. “Time slowed down, but it was just seconds.”

That’s when the video begins, showing the deputy picking up the child from the ground and running. Clutching her second child, the mother ran in the opposite direction.

“I think it was just the perfect time for me to be somewhere,” Castaneda said.

As a former Marine, the lawmaker says he didn’t wonder what to do.

“What I do in my job, what I’ve done in the past, is just help people,” he said.

Castaneda was later honored awarded the Order of Merit for saving a child. The sheriff’s department described him as “a true example of courage and dedication to our community.”

Despite the story’s positive ending, Castaneda says it’s also a reminder to never cross train tracks unless you’re sure you can make it to the other side safely.

“When there is no room on the other side of the tracks, don’t start moving on the tracks,” he said.

When seconds count and choices are made, it’s easy to see how things could have ended differently.

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