A California teenager was in critical condition Sunday, after her boyfriend died pushing her out of the direct path of an oncoming train.

Mickayla Friend, 16, of Marysville, Calif., was on the way to a Sadie Hawkins Day dance with her boyfriend, whose identity authorities have not released, when the couple took a detour along some train tracks to pick up food before the event, KCRA Sacramento reports.

Authorities say the couple were walking south along the tracks when a train approached behind them. The conductor sounded a warning horn and engaged emergency brakes but not in time.

“The engineer was on the horn,” said Sean Stark, who witnessed the incident. “Then finally, they both looked back at the same time.” Friend’s male companion died after being struck by the train.

“They would have both been underneath that train if he didn’t push her out of the way at the last second,” Stark said.

Union Pacific Railroad and the Marysville Police Department are investigating the incident.

[KCRA]

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