What was meant to be a night of fun, laughter, and endless memories, and dancing ended in a fatal accident on the train tracks of Marysville, California.
The New York Daily News reports that high school students Mickayla Friend and Mateus Moore were on their way to a Sadie Hawkins Day dance. The young couple was walking on the train tracks toward a store.
An oncoming train was traveling in the same directions of the teens. Friend and Moore were unable to move out of the trains way in time. Moore was able to push Friend out of the way, and he died on impact.
Friend, 16, is currently in the hospital fighting for recovery and in critical condition.
Alithya Friend, Mickayla's sister, told TV station KCRA that Moore was her sisters first love.
"It's her first boyfriend and her first love," said Alithya. "And she just got it taken away from her in an instant."
The train conductor did blow the horn to alert the teens and pulled the emergency brake. Unfortunately the train did not stop in time.
Alithya went on to talk about how she felt when she heard the horrific news.
"You can't imagine getting the worst call in your life, knowing that you just dropped your sister off to go to a dance that was supposed to be a special, amazing night for her and her boyfriend of a year," said Alithya. "And then you get a call that says he's deceased and she's in critical condition."
Sean Stark, a witness of the tragic incident, said Moore was a hero. "They would have both been underneath that train if he didn't push her out of the way at the last second."