Good Samaritan rescues Ill. teen stalled on tracks

CHICAGO A Chicago teen who's car got stuck on railroad tracks after running out of gas has a stranger to thank for helping him avoid catastrophe.

"It was a very close call," 17-year-old Bill Anetsberger said to CBS station WBBM in Chicago. "At the end, I was out of breath, and I didn't even really do anything physically exhausting, it was just so scary."

Anetsberger knew he was short on gas on Oct. 31, but the high school senior didn't have time to refill his tank before heading to school. He had already missed two classes.

He used the last bit of gas to drive his car up a slight incline -- and found himself looking at a gauge on E and his car completely stalled on the train tracks near Metra station, with a train approaching.

"At first, the thought was flashing in my mind, 'Should I save my life and get out of the car, or should I save my car?'" Anetsberger told the Chicago Sun-Times.

He shifted the car to neutral and unsuccessfully tried to push it off the tracks. He tried to ask for help, but all the other drivers around honked at him and told him to get out of the way.

It wasn't until a Good Samaritan helped push Anetsberger's car that he was able to get his car and himself out of danger.

"I only got to yell 'Thank you' at his window as he was driving by. I didn't get to see him face-to-face," he said.

His mother told WBBM that she was thankful that the stranger was able to help her son. She drove immediately to check on him after he called her to tell her about the ordeal.

"Just like a newborn; to check his fingers, and toes, and head, and to make sure everything was okay, and to give him a big hug," Linda Anetsberger said.

She then drove him to school.