San Mateo County deputies talk about daring rescue

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (KGO) -- Two San Mateo County Sheriff's deputies are talking about their quick action that has them being called heroes.

Video posted to YouTube by a witness shows Deputy Lance Whitted pull Nelson Gomez out of his car just before the Caltrain slammed into the 20-year-old's vehicle.

"I noticed that the train was coming and at the angle the car was parked, the car was still going to possibly strike us or even debris from the car could strike us," Whitted said. "At that point I dragged the driver a few feet further."

He says he acted mostly out of instinct.

His partner, Deputy Erik Rueppel also leapt into action. He tried to signal the train engineer.

"I know the engineers are very keen to their environments and if they see somebody on the railroad they're going to put the train in emergency and come to a stop," he said.

According to Sunnyvale police, the rescued driver had just been involved in a hit-and-run crash at the 100 block of South Bernardo.

They say Gomez kept driving until he skidded into the railroad crossing arm about a block away.

That's where the two deputies first saw he was in trouble.

Whitted says he didn't realize how big a deal this is until he saw the video of the rescue.

"When you're in that situation you don't see the danger," he said. "You don't see exactly what's going on. You're just making split second decisions. When I was actually able to review the video later I saw how close the train was."

Gomez was taken to Stanford Hospital for his injuries.

That's where Sunnyvale police later cited and arrested him on four charges, including suspicion of driving under the influence.

Whitted and Rueppel say they don't consider themselves heroes; that they were just doing their jobs.