A Northern California teen died after he saved the life of his girlfriend by pushing her out of the way of an oncoming train.
16-year-old Mickayla Friend of Marysville, Calif., is currently in the hospital with serious injuries, the New York Daily News reported. She and her boyfriend Mateus Moore were on their way to a Sadie Hawkins Day dance at their high school, when they decided to walk to the store on the train tracks.
Local station KCRA reported that Mickayla and her boyfriend, whose identity has not officially been released but was named on Facebook as Mateus Moore, suddenly met a train traveling in their direction. They weren't able to move to safety in time, the Daily News reported.
But Moore suddenly pushed Mickayla out of the way as the train approached, launching her out of harm's way. He was killed on-site.
Mickayla is reportedly in critical condition at hospital in the area.
According to Mickayla's sister Alithya Friend, the death has shaken the entire family.
"It's her first boyfriend and her first love," Alithya told Sacramento-area station KCRA. "And she just got it taken away from her in an instant."
According to authorities who spoke with KCRA, the conductor reportedly switched on the emergency brakes and sounded the train's horn, but was too late.
Eyewitness Sean Stark, who was one of the group of onlookers in a nearby park who tried helping the two teens, said their backs were turned to the train.
"The engineer was on the horn...Then finally, they both looked back at the same time," Stark said. "They would have both been underneath that train if he didn't push her out of the way at the last second."
"You can't imagine getting the worst call in your life, knowing that you just dropped your sister off to go to a dance that was supposed to be a special, amazing night for her and her boyfriend of a year," Alithya continued. "And then you get a call that says he's deceased and she's in critical condition."
