Officer Patrick Largo pulls man from tracks in the nick of time
Gallup Police Department Officer Patrick Largo received a Life Saver Award for his heroic actions in the line of duty, after saving a man from an oncoming train on Aug. 13. When he received the call, it was about a man walking in front of vehicles near Third Street and West Highway 66.
According to the incident report, on route to the scene, Largo spotted a white jeep heading east on Highway 66 and a man in a black shirt running away from the jeep. A man got out of the jeep and began to chase the man in black, shouting “Help me, he’s running toward the train tracks.”
Largo noticed an eastbound train approaching, about 100 yards away. The man in black ran toward the train, and Largo pursued him.
“By the time I caught the male we were both still on the tracks in between 2nd Street and 3rd Street crossing,” Largo wrote in his report. “I noticed the male was crying and yelling, ‘Leave me alone, let me be.’ I told the male I was there to help and I tried to get him off the tracks.”
According to the report, the man managed to free himself from Largo, and got onto the tracks. Though the train approached quickly, Largo pulled him from its path.
While waiting for an ambulance to arrive, a woman who claimed she was the man’s mother arrived. Soon after, the man who had earlier shouted for help returned, and said he was a friend of the man in the black shirt. He filled Largo in on the details of the events leading up to the train-track incident.
Apparently, the man who had shouted for help was the designated driver for the man in the black shirt and his girlfriend – they had both been drinking at a party in Gamerco, and were intoxicated. The two had reportedly gotten into an argument about a phone.
During the drive, the man in the black shirt and his girlfriend continued to argue, and both eventually exited the jeep. The driver said he was concerned about his friend, who was precariously walking in the road. This was the point at which Largo had arrived on scene.
When the man in the black shirt was searched, a pipe, a leafy green substance and a lighter were found in his pocket. He was transported to the hospital for evaluations. Largo was also checked for injuries on scene. He said he felt OK, but later felt pain in his knee, according to the report.
Mia Rose Poris
Sun Assistant Editor
