Man crosses railroad tracks with oncoming train to rescue woman stuck at crossing

Anchor/Reporter

HOBE SOUND, Fla. —

An act of bravery and compassion is bringing two strangers together in Florida.

A young man rescued a woman whose car got stuck on a railroad crossing in Hobe Sound, saving her from near disaster.

Just a few days ago, Josiah Baur and Debbie Spoelstra didn’t know each other, but now, they share a special connection.

“Friday, I was leaving work, and I was heading back home. I was trying to get home for a tire appointment, funny enough, and running late for it. Train crossing went down, and I looked down on my phone, and I glimpsed up, and I saw the car stuck behind the railroad crossing,” Baur said.

Spoelstra was still inside that car, stuck on the train tracks at Bridge Road and Dixie Highway in Hobe Sound.

Train incident in Hobe Sound.

“I was in a panic. What I did is, I put my car in reverse, and apparently the gate got stuck on top of my car on the antenna. So, when I tried to reverse, it would not let me reverse. I was kind of frozen. I sat there, I saw the train,” Spoelstra said.

Baur, realizing she was still in the car, didn’t hesitate and jumped out of his car to help.

“I threw it in park and just took off running, try to see what side the train was on to see if it would clear her or not. But it was on her side and didn’t really want to take a chance. So, I ran across and tried to push up on the thingy to release her,” Baur said.

That split-second decision helped to avoid what could have been a devastating crash from a freight train.

“He came just like a hero. And lifted the gate up off of my car. And I was able to reverse and get off the tracks. And as soon as he did that, within seconds, the train passed by me. So it was very scary, you know, life-changing experience for me,” Spoelstra said.

Someone posted about Baur’s heroic actions on Facebook and the post quickly went viral.

“We think of heroes, I think police officers and military, not what I did. It was just a good, good thing to do,” Baur said.

The two said they’ve now bonded over this unique experience, attributing it to their shared faith.

“He was put in one place, I was put in one place, and it was just fate. And it was a God thing, you know, and then once I told him my grandson was Josiah, and then he was just like, ‘Oh, wow. It’s definitely a God thing.’ So, I don’t know. I would just say, like I said, I’m so grateful for him,” Spoelstra said.

“God’s got a plan. He puts us exactly where we need to be. If you’re running late for something, it’s probably for a reason. Just trust his plan,” Baur said.

Spoelstra said she wasn’t texting or distracted while driving and was simply taken off guard by the railroad crossing arms lowering.

She wants to pass this message on to other drivers: always be careful and look both ways before crossing train tracks.