A split second decision can make all the difference between life and death. And for one Tennessee teen, that is what she faced when she spotted an elderly woman trying to cross train tracks in her wheelchair. Can you ask yourself, what would you do in that instance?

For 18-year-old Lilly Baker, it was a no-brainer: help the elderly woman.  “I didn’t know I was going to get the feeling to pick her up. I didn’t even know I was going to be over here this way,” Baker said. Taking a route in Ardmore that she wouldn’t normally take, it was pure coincidence that she was near the tracks the same time as the woman.

“I had already watched three or four people pass this lady by, and she would stop for them to go by, but they wouldn’t even think about her,” she said. So Baker stopped to see if the woman needed help. And it was that moment when the worst sound pierced the air – a train speeding toward them.

Eighteen-year-old, Lilly Baker is being called a hero after she jumped in to save a stranger struck on the railroad tracks last week. Photo by WTVF

“He was honking his horn and the lights started flashing I was like, ‘Oh no, we gotta go now!'” Baker said. She said she had to get the woman and herself to safety as fast as possible. “We have to hurry up. I’m not worried about your wheelchair because we need to hurry up. She kept telling me she can’t walk and she was hurting. I said it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry it’s hurting, but I have to help. We need to do this,” Baker said.

Somehow the girl was able to pull herself and the woman away from the tracks, but the train unfortunately did hit the older woman’s ankles, breaking them both. Police say the elderly woman is expected to survive. “Me and her both lost our shoes. I just kept yelling for someone to call the ambulance. There were people watching, and I just needed someone to call an ambulance. I couldn’t get to my phone. I really wasn’t expecting it at all,” Baker said.

Lilly Baker. Photo by WAFF

Thankfully, the only reminder of their close call is a single wheel left behind from the woman’s wheelchair. After the harrowing incident, Baker said it took a toll. “It’s a near-death experience, and I’ve never really been that close to death,” she said.

[The railroad company] told me that I was 18 inches away from getting hit by the train, and that in itself gave me the chills. I almost started crying.”

Ardmore Police Chief Jereme Robison wanted everyone to know that Baker’s actions saved a life. “If it wasn’t for her today, there would be someone who’s not alive right now,” Robison said. He said everyone can learn a lesson about kindness and bravery from this moment. “We’re not the only ones out there that can do something. Anybody can. For such a young lady to do this, it shows bravery and courage come in all sizes and shapes,” he said.

Bak3er said she would do it all over again if she could. “I’d tell [the woman] that I’m thankful for her. She doesn’t have to be thankful for me because I’m grateful for her,” she said. Watch below for a look at this amazing young hero.

Sources: The Citizen | WAFF