AN OFF DUTY CALIFORNIA DEPUTY SAVES CHILD FROM CAR STUCK ON RAILROAD TRACKS WITH ONLY SECONDS TO SPARE. (PHOTO).

 An off duty California deputy saves child from car stuck on railroad tracks with only seconds to spare.

Michael Castaneda is a deputy with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, however his heroics on a September afternoon occurred when he was off duty and heading home.

Castaneda was behind a car at a railroad crossing when the gate began to close. As the driver tried to get out of the predicament the situation only became even more dire when the vehicle became stuck in gravel.

When Castaneda noticed that instead of running away, the female driver was frantically trying to remove something from the backseat, he realized there must be another passenger.

Castaneda sprang into action jumping from his vehicle and barreling headlong into the life or death race. As he approached he saw the woman place one child on the ground as she climbed back in to retrieve a second child.

Castaneda sprinted into the fray and scooped the child up from the ground and ran as the mother ran the opposite direction with the second child. Both Castaneda and the mother made it clear of the tracks mere seconds before the train struck the vehicle. 

Castaneda says he thinks it was a matter of perfect timing for him to be in the right place at the right time. He was honored with the Meritorious Valor Award for his split second and selfless actions on that September afternoon.

Great work to the Mom and officer.

One more photo below.