LAKE STATION | Larry Carr has a way of being in the right place at the right time, then doing the right thing, those who know him said.
His timing Tuesday couldn't have been better when he helped Nathan Furlong, 16, minutes after the Lake Station teen was struck by a freight train and thrown 70 feet.
Carr, a former South Haven Fire Department emergency medical technician, said he jumped out of his car and tended to Furlong until the ambulance arrived.
"I'm hoping he'll make a good recovery," Carr said. "I hope what I did helped."
Furlong remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at St. James Hospital and Healthcare Centers in Olympia Fields, a hospital spokeswoman said about 10 p.m. Wednesday.
He first was taken to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary, but initial reports indicated he had been airlifted to a different hospital.
Mark Rincon, a commander at Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Post No. 7881 in Hammond, said this isn't the first time Carr has assisted someone in trouble and it probably won't be the last.
"A few years ago he saved three people from a house fire in South Haven. ... It just amazes me," Rincon said.
The Hammond-based post Carr belongs to plans to honor him for his effort Tuesday at its June 17 meeting, Rincon said.
Carr, a Portage resident who served with the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Thailand, said he didn't mind putting his EMT skills to use.
"I ran up the hill and got to him and looked him over and tried to catch a pulse. ... I was able to get one and noticed he was breathing but struggling to do so. I pulled his chin down so he could breath. I talked to him and told him to stay still," he said.
According to police, Furlong was walking along the train tracks, in the 4000 block of Marquette Road, shortly after 2 p.m. when he was hit by a CSX freight train.
Lake Station Police Chief Mike Stills said it's not clear why Furlong didn't hear the train, which also was westbound, since the engineer told police he blew the train's whistle about 50 times.
Furlong didn't turn around until shortly before impact, the engineer told police.
Stills said the teen was wearing a stereo headset found at the scene, and he may not have heard the train because he was listening to music.
