MARIETTA, Ga. — If you wanted a good reason to understand why people always say “pay attention”, the following story is a perfect example.

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Marietta Police shared a story Saturday on their Facebook page about an attentive CSX train engineer who was making his way through town and spotted something ahead of him on the tracks.

What he saw was a homeless man who had fallen on the tracks and police say he was in a “hypothermic condition” from which he could not get up and off the tracks.

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Because the engineer was able to spot the man from a distance, he was able to bring the mile-long train to a stop before hitting the helpless man lying on the tracks, in effect saving his life.

Marietta Police, Fire and an ambulance crew were called to the scene and after walking a quarter mile down the track to the injured man, got him out and transported him to Kennestone Hospital.

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