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Railroad track rescue ends with arrest
emergency

A wheelchair-bound man was pulled to safety by Turlock Police officers after his wheelchair became stuck on the railroad tracks.

Though safe from an oncoming train, the man didn’t exactly get a pleasant ending to his meeting with the officers once they discovered he had a no-bail warrant and he was placed under arrest.

The incident began shortly after 9 a.m. Friday when Michael Lennox Matthews, 65, of Turlock got his wheelchair stuck on the railroad tracks near the intersection of Golden State Boulevard and Marshall Street.

The situation was called in to the police department, but when officers arrived, Matthews told them he didn’t want their assistance. The officers had to override Matthews’ wishes when they learned a train was coming along the railroad tracks from the north.

The officers initiated an emergency response and got Matthews to safety, said Turlock Police spokesman Sgt. Russ Holeman.

Before the call was wrapped up, the officers learned from police dispatch that Matthews had a no-bail warrant issued on him and the officers had to book him for it.