Mohr leapt from the moving train and ran back to the child. She lay crying by the tracks, blood streaming from a gash beneath her hair.
***
Marshall stood in the front yard of her home, clutching her son's hand and staring ahead as people ran toward the tracks. She was trying to scream for help, but could only gasp unintelligibly.
***
Mohr knelt down beside the child. "Mama! Mama!" the little girl cried out. Ecstatic relief swept over Mohr.
Cradling her head, Mohr lifted her from the dirt. "Okay, sweetheart," he whispered. "Let's go find Mommy."
It was only then that Mohr noticed the train had stopped and there were flashing red lights of emergency vehicles alongside the tracks. A neighbor, seeing the accident unfold, had dialed 911.
With the baby in his arms, Mohr began to walk and was met by police and a growing crowd of onlookers. Firefighters arrived, took the baby and handed her off to paramedics for a trip to the hospital.
***
Tila Marshall looked up to see police officers approaching her front lawn. Her mind spun in renewed terror. "Don't you dare tell me that was my baby!" she screamed.
A police detective held up his hand. "Ma'am, ma'am, calm down. The baby's going to be okay. We just have to find out whose it is."
Marshall quickly realized that the child's description fit Emily. The news that her baby was safely en route to the hospital finally sank in, and she collapsed, weeping, into the detective's arms.
***
Mohr spoke with police and railroad officials, then began feeling shaky himself. Telling himself he still had a job to do, he began to walk the length of the train to check on the cars.
"You go sit in the cab," a train official said. "I'll do the inspection."
As Mohr rested in the train, his pent-up emotions rushed to the surface. It had all unfolded so fast, and the reality of what he had done was only now hitting him.
Within minutes, Lindley was standing beside Mohr, taking the controls again. They looked at each other, their expressions of relief and gratitude more eloquent than words. Mohr's overalls were still spattered with blood. The train pulled slowly out of Lafayette.
That evening, when Robert Mohr got home, his family was standing on the front porch, applauding. They had listened to the news of his heroism on television. To Mohr's relief they told him that the little girl had suffered nothing more serious than cuts and bruises. She'd be fine.
***
A week later Mohr stepped from his car in front of Tila Marshall's house. When Marshall was introduced to the man who had saved her daughter, she hugged him tightly.
Mohr picked up Emily and held her close. "Hello, Emily," he said.
Next, read these uplifting stories of neighbors helping during coronavirus that will inspire you to do the same.
A Toddler Was Playing on Train Tracks as a Train Approached—The Conductor's Quick Action Saved Her Life, Source:https://www.rd.com/true-stories/survival/seconds-to-save-emily/
