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• Lodi man rescues elderly woman from oncoming train

• Hoping to succeed Nakanishi

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February 8th, 2010

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February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

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• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

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February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

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• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

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• Correction

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• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

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• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

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February 2nd, 2010

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• Jumpers across California

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• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

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February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

• Public Meetings

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The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (74)
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• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future (60)
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• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (31)

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Lodi man rescues elderly woman from oncoming train

A 20-year-old Lodi man became an instant hero when he pulled an elderly woman in a wheelchair from the path of an oncoming train Saturday night, according to Lodi police.

Marguerite Jones

"I was sure I was going to die," 82-year-old Marguerite Jones said Sunday afternoon. "All I knew was that train was coming."

Jones had just received a ride from a service at Lockeford Seventh-day Adventist Church to her home at Hotel Lodi on School Street so that she could get her wheelchair and go to a party east of the tracks.

While returning home, she started to cross the tracks on Locust Street at about 10 p.m. when her wheels apparently got caught in the tracks, police Lt. Virgil Monroe said.

Sam Huffman

Meanwhile, Sam Huffman, 20, had crossed the tracks and approached Sacramento Street when he looked in his mirror and saw the woman stuck on the tracks. The crossing arms were down, the warning lights were flashing and the bells were ringing.

"I was going to meet my girlfriend at the parking garage. We were going to see a movie," Huffman said.

"I stopped at the stop sign on Sacramento Street," he said. "I was messing with my cell phone, I heard the train and looked through my rear-view mirror and saw her on the ground. I put my truck in reverse, jumped out and grabbed her out of her wheelchair.

"I probably got three steps away (from the tracks) before it hit her wheelchair," Huffman said.

The train missed Jones and Huffman by only three feet, according to police Officer Dale Eubanks. The motorized wheelchair, which she used because of bad knees, was destroyed by the locomotive.

The train engineer, going an estimated 40 mph, stopped the train and told police that Jones and Huffman were so close to the train he thought they were struck.

"At first, she was really shaken up," Huffman said of Jones. "I just asked her if she was OK, and she said she was fine. After about five minutes, she pretty much had her head on straight."

Monroe, who was patrolling in the area at the time, didn't see Jones lying on the tracks at the time. It appeared at first that Huffman was walking onto the tracks to commit suicide, he said.

Jones, wearing a shoulder strap with "I (heart) Jesus" on it Sunday afternoon, was formerly a beautician in Vallejo. She has lived in Lodi and Lockeford about 17 years. She also previously lived in Stockton. Her only living relatives are a brother and some cousins.

Huffman has lived in Lodi his entire life. He attended Tokay High School for one year before transferring to independent study at Liberty Continuation High School. He places detour signs and works on lane closures for a company called RBI.

"I didn't go to sleep till pretty late last night, and I had to get up pretty early," Huffman said Sunday afternoon. "My adrenaline was running."

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.