It was at midnight, when Janice Esposito arrived at the train station, jumped into her car, and began the 20-minute drive home. She had traveled the road so many times. Suddenly, a car out of nowhere crashed into Esposito's minicar, pushing her backward some 100 feet onto the railroad tracks （轨道）. She sat in her minicar, hurt badly by the shock and the airbags.
As it happened, Pete DiPinto, a volunteer firefighter and retired （退休的） teacher, was getting ready for bed. He took a flashlight and, still in his pajamas(睡衣), ran out the door.
The first car he came upon was the one that had hit Esposito. Once DiPinto made sure that the driver was OK, he looked around and noticed Esposito's minicar was on the railroad tracks. And then he heard a sharp sound: the bells of an oncoming train.
"I even see the headlights of the train," he told Newsday. DiPinto rushed to Esposito's car and knocked the driver's side window. She just looked at him, "I don't know where I am." she said.
"You're on the railroad tracks," DiPinto shouted. "We have to get you off right now!" He pulled the door, but failed. The train was rushing toward them. DiPinto ran to the passenger side and opened the door. He pushed aside the airbags, caught Esposito's arms, and pulled her toward him across the passenger seat until he could help her out and speed her to safety. Within six seconds, the train crashed into the minicar. "'It was like a Hollywood movie," DiPinto told reporters the next day.
"Last night," Esposito told CBS, "the hero arrived in pajamas, not in a fire truck."
