The Facts of the Case Exercise

Each morning, James Laboke walks four miles through Old Orchard Beach to his job at the Eezy Breezy Restaurant. But this morning, Laboke stopped to help save a man’s life, while still managing to arrive at work on time as if it were just any other morning.

“I never thought about it. I just knew I couldn’t let that man get crushed by a train,” said Laboke of his actions.

The man that Laboke stopped to help was Francois Truffaut, an 80-year-old tourist from Quebec City, Canada. Truffaut was found unconscious by Laboke in his car which had stalled on the train tracks where an Amtrak train passes each morning.

The Amtrak Downeaster passes through Old Orchard Beach, Maine each morning at about 6:10 a.m. after it departs from Portland, Maine at 5:55 a.m.

Laboke noticed Truffaut unconscious in his car at approximately 6:00 a.m., minutes before the train was expected to pass through on those very tracks. He attempted to wake up Truffaut who was slumped over the steering wheel by pounding on the window, but Truffaut did not respond. After attempting to open the doors and realizing that they were locked, Laboke ran to get help at the police station which is only about 100 yards from the site where the car stalled on the tracks, according to a police report.

Captain Janet Paradiso, only about a mile from the scene, received the call in her cruiser about the stranded vehicle. When she arrived at the scene at 6:05 a.m., the train was so close that she could hear its whistle. With so little time to react, she rammed her police cruiser into Truffaut’s car, pushing it off of the tracks.

“I knew there was no time. I had to do something,” said Paradiso of her actions.

The train passed by Truffaut’s 1987 pink Cadillac Seville and Paradiso’s cruiser at 40 miles per hour only 30 seconds after Paradiso’s action. Chief of Police of Old Orchard Beach, Brian Paul said, “It was that close.”

Truffaut, a diabetic, was sent to Southern Maine Medical Center. According to the police report, he may have gone into insulin shock just as he reached the railroad crossing. “I don’t remember a thing,” Truffaut said after the incident. He is in stable condition.

After the potentially fatal incident was resolved, Laboke continued on to work, without mentioning the morning’s occurrences to his boss, Charles Champaige, the owner of the Eezy Breezy Restaurant. Champaige found out about Laboke’s actions when a reporter called the restaurant that day.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all. That young man is one of my most responsible employees. He’s just a great kid,” said Champaige.