Friends, neighbours and strangers are raising money to help a Chilliwack woman who broke her hand trying to save a man in a wheelchair from an oncoming train.
Julie Callaghan and another woman frantically tried to free Matthew Jarvis on May 26 after his motorized wheelchair somehow got lodged in the tracks at the crossing near Broadway and 1st Avenue.
They had only seconds, and unfortunately it wasn't enough.
Callaghan jumped out of the way just in time, but her hand was hit by the train. Jarvis died on scene.
"I'm just so sorry … I couldn't fix it," she told CTV News on May 26.
"It was just the right thing to do for any human being stuck on a train track," she continued. "How do you not attempt to save somebody?"
While Jarvis' family raises money for a funeral, Callaghan's friends have also organized an online fundraiser called Our Local Hero to help with her bills and mortgage payments while she recovers from her injury.
The impact shattered her knuckles, broke bones in her fingers and hand, tore her tendons and damaged her nerves. She already had emergency surgery, but doctors tell her she may never fully regain the use of three fingers.
She's also dealing with complications that result in swelling all over her body and fluid buildup in her lungs.
Feather Sherwood, who started the GoFundMe page, describes her friend's actions as selfless.
"Those of us close to her always knew she had this compassionate, giving, deeply caring heart," she wrote.
She doesn't want Callaghan to have to deal with financial stress on top of processing the traumatic event and dealing with her physical recovery. She also wants to support Callaghan's husband who works as an on-call firefighter and their three children.
Jarvis' partner, Valerie Schneider, called the women "angels of God" for trying to save him. Although she's devastated by the loss, she said it gave her some peace to know he wasn't alone in his last moments.
According to Sherwood, Callaghan went to meet Jarvis' family so they could thank her in person.
