Janet Paradiso barely had time to think before she rammed her police cruiser into Francois Truffaut’s 1987 Cadillac, forcing it off the train tracks thirty seconds before a train streaked by Monday morning. Truffaut was found unconscious in his car, with the engine still running on the tracks by 17-year-old James Leboke.
After pounding on the window of the locked car with no response, Leboke ran the 100 yards to the nearest police station. Thankfully, Paradiso, the chief of police of Old Orchard Beach, ME was merely a mile away from the scene and got there just in time to hear the train’s whistle.
“I knew there was no time. I had to do something.” said Paradiso.
Other than some amnesia, Truffaut suffered minor injuries from his narrow escape from death. “I don’t remember anything,” claimed the 80-year-old diabetic from his hospital bed at Southern Maine Medical Center.
Truffaunt had been vacationing to Old Orchard Beach since he was a child. According to the police report, Truffaut might have gone into insulin shock just as he reached the railroad crossing.
Leboke had just been walking the four miles to his work when he saw what looked like a stranded vehicle on the tracks and acted instinctively.
“I never thought about it. I just knew I couldn’t let that man get crushed by a train.” He later explained to police.
Thanks to Captain Paradiso and Leboke’s quick thinking, Truffaut has the luxury of being able to vacation to Old Orchard Beach, ME again in the future.
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Alexa: Great job. I really like how you handled the lead. Much better than what I had. Though not a traditional news lead, you can get away with it because there is so much drama you are unlikely to lose the reader's interest.
ReplyDeleteI did notice that at one point you made Paradiso the chief of police -- those things happen on deadline.
Finally, you might consider dropping the final paragraph, which states the obvious and has the tone of a summary paragraph in an academic paper.
Very nice work.