The mayor of Vienna became the hero of Saturday’s train crash

VIENNA, Ga. (WALB) – The mayor of Vienna is now being hailed a hero after rescuing a mother and her three children minutes before a train hit their car which was stuck on the tracks.

“I couldn’t let these babies sit there and get mauled by a train,” Mayor Eddie Daniels said.

Daniels was driving to work Saturday morning when he saw the black SUV stalled on the tracks with a fast approaching train.

“I saw a woman in trouble and I knew I had to do what I had to do,” he said.

Daniels then sprang into action and first helped the mother out of the car. When he got into the backseat, he found three children – a six-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old – who also needed his help. That’s when the unthinkable happened.

“I took the two little ones out. At that point I saw the train and the six-year-old girl, I was pulling her outside and that’s when the train hit,” he said.

Daniels remembers being caught between the train and the truck but still managed to get the last child out. The crashed truck landed a few meters from where it was hit.

“He flipped the truck over in that direction and that’s where you see those skid marks,” Daniels said.

Even with eight stitches on his head and a broken ankle, Daniels said he was grateful the family made it out alive.

“I’m here just to do God’s work, that’s what we’re supposed to do. And they told me I was a hero. I said I don’t feel like a hero, I just feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, what people elected me to do,” he said.

He said he never imagined this would happen in his second term as mayor, but he’s grateful he was in the right place at the right time.

“Terrible scene but we were able to save lives,” he said.

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