Downeaster

An unconscious man stalled his car on the Downeaster railroad tracks in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, early Monday morning.
According to a police report, 17-year-old James Laboke, an inhabitant of Old Orchard Beach, was walking to work when he witnessed the idling car on the tracks. He ran over to the vehicle and saw that the driver was slumped over the steering wheel. The doors were locked and the driver was unresponsive so Laboke ran to the nearby police station.
Captain of the town police force, Janet Paradiso, received the radio call and arrived on the scene just as the train’s whistle blew closer.
“I knew there was no time,” said Paradiso, “I had to do something.”
She rammed her cruiser into the idling vehicle, pushing off the tracks. Thirty seconds later, the train passed.
The driver of the vehicle was 80-year-old Francois Truffaut, a tourist from Quebec City, Canada. He was taken to Southern Maine Medical Center and is reported to be in stable condition.
“I don’t remember a thing,” Truffaut admits. He is a diabetic and according to the police report, he may have gone into insulin shock just as he reached the railroad crossing; rendering him unconscious.
Thanks to the quick response of Laboke, Truffaut was saved. “That young man is one of my most responsible employees,” says Laboke’s boss, Charles Champaigne, “He’s just a great kid.”