A man lost his leg after being struck by a train on Saturday night in Slidell.

The Slidell Police Department said the 66-year-old man, who is possibly suffering from dementia, appeared to be sleeping on the train tracks around 9:30 pm when he was hit.

An officer's quick action is credited with saving the man's life. Officer Darren Marcev was the first on the scene after an Amtrak train engineer called 911.

According to Slidell police spokesperson Daniel Seuzaneau, the man who was hit likely would not have survived had it not been for Marcev's swift actions.

Marcev arrived minutes after the 911 call and found the victim with a completely severed leg. He quickly sprung to action and grabbed his tourniquet from his belt and applied it to the man's upper thigh. He says it all happened within a minute upon arrival.

"This gentleman probably would have bled out in minutes. The tourniquet was able to stop the bleeding immediately," Seuzeneau said.

The victim was taken to UMC in New Orleans and an ER doctor told Slidell police that had not these officers responded quickly and applied a tourniquet, this man would not be alive.

"It's a miracle in itself that this gentleman is expected to survive," Seuzeneau said.

All Slidell police officers carry tourniquets, Seuzeneau said. They are trained to use them mostly to help victims of car crashes or shootings.

As of Sunday afternoon, the victim was still in critical condition at UMC but is expected to survive.

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