New York State police trooper pinned against a tree and Amish wagon when stopping a runaway wagon

A New York State Police trooper was recently recognized for his actions in May that are credited with saving the life of a four-year-old Amish girl after a wagon she was the sole passenger in went out of control – and on Friday, state police released body camera footage of the incident.

The incident took place on May 16 when trooper James T. Egan Jr. was driving on state Route 95 in the town of Moira when he observed an Amish wagon traveling at a high rate of speed, according to police, and the horse looked to be out of control, and was running through intersections, police said, and the trooper noticed a four-year-old child as the sole occupant of the wagon.

After many failed attempts to stop the wagon with his vehicle, he led the wagon onto a grassy lawn, then leaped, exiting his vehicle, grabbed the reigns, and continued to pull on the reigns in an attempt to stop the horse, police said. Trooper Egan became pinned between a tree and the wagon, which caused the Amish wagon to stop abruptly. The child was not seriously hurt.