Body cam shows officer stop girl’s suicide attempt as train approaches

An officer’s body camera captured him stopping a teenage girl from jumping in front of a train Friday just moments before it approached in north suburban Waukegan.

Officers received a call at 1:40 a.m. from a girl who said her 17-year-old sister was going to take her own life by standing in front of a train, Waukegan police said in a statement.

Dispatchers located the 17-year-old by tracing her cellphone’s location to Metra tracks at South Avenue, police said.

Officers raced to the area and searched for the girl with their flashlights. Then as the crossing gates started to close, the girl stepped out from behind a mechanical shed and moved toward the approaching train.

That’s when Officer C. Harris yelled, “Come here, come here,” and then sprinted and tackled the girl, police said.

“I am extremely proud of these officers who, through their heroic actions, saved the life of a young woman,” Waukegan Police Chief Wayne Walles said in a statement.

“I am just as proud of our dispatch professionals who utilized their resources to locate the area of where this young woman was and directed the responding officers to find her,” Walles said.

The teenager was unharmed and taken to a hospital for psychological evaluation.

Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts can find help by calling 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1 (800) 273-8255.