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A Tennessee community has been left to grieve after a 31-year-old man sacrificed his own life to save his daughter from an oncoming train.

Justin McCary, his daughter Haley, 10, and a niece were collecting rocks Thursday afternoon along railroad tracks on a Martha Avenue bridge that crosses South Chickamauga Creek.

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When the trio heard a train coming, McCary’s niece was able to escape but his daughter wasn’t. Her foot was stuck in the tracks. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that Justin was able to get Haley free as a CSX train, with four locomotives and 95 cars filled with coal, came bearing down on them.

That’s when time apparently ran out.

McCary pushed his daughter off the bridge, sending her 15 feet into the creek, according to WRCB. A moment later, the train struck taking Justin’s life.

“He died a hero today, saving his daughter from being hit by a train in a terrifying tragedy,” Justin’s cousin Pamela McCary posted on Facebook after learning of his fate.

“He was a good man with an enormous personality. We will never get over this.” Tweet This

Neighbour Donna Edwards told the NBC affiliate that a previous crash in July, at the same location, made the bridge unsafe.

“It pushed the whole guardrail from the walkway, across the trestle. It pushed that whole guardrail down and so there weren’t any safety barriers on that walkway,” she explained.

Justin McCary, seen here with his wife Elizabeth, daughter Haley and Mercedes Alexis Peters (far left). Handout / WRCB

Haley suffered a broken back, crushed pelvis, a fractured shoulder and internal bleeding from the fall. She was rushed to Erlanger Hospital where surgery was performed the same day.

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A GoFundMe page has been launched to help support McCary’s wife and daughter financially. 48 people had raised $3750 of a $10000 goal at this writing.

McCary’s daughter made a big step in her recovery Sunday.

“She started doing small exercises [Sunday] but she still can’t get out of the bed just yet,” a recent update on GoFundMe stated. “She can eat anything she wants now but they are having to ease her into it.”

“She is improving and getting better with every day that passes!” Tweet This