Police say the driver, a man in his 50s, was crossing the train tracks as the gate was down at the intersection of North Swarthmore Avenue in Ridley Park.
The crash victim had a "gut-wrenching scream of, 'I know I'm dying,'" recalled Ofc. Sara Howell of the Ridley Township Police Department.
It's what Officer Howell was met with as she ran toward a car that crashed into the side of a CSX train.
It was fully engulfed in flames.
It was her, reaching into that burning car, that saved the life of the driver inside.
"There was heat, smoke, no visibility whatsoever. I was reaching in trying to see what I could find, and I was able to grab him by his sweatshirt," said Howell.
The 8-year veteran of the force dragged him to safety as medics jumped in.
Investigators are looking into how it happened. Officer Howell is just relieved that she was there.
"I'm not the biggest person, he was bigger than me. My mental state: I had a job to do, my job was to get him and myself to safety," she said. "There could have been severely devastating different circumstances had adrenaline not kicked in for me."
The driver was hurt in the crash, but he was not burned. He will survive thanks to Ofc. Howell's efforts.