POLICE SAVE SUICIDAL MAN FROM TRAIN.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

In a daring rescue, Los Angeles police officers saved a suicidal man who was running toward a Metrolink train Monday, officials said.

Two officers alerted the conductor and two others were able to push the man off the tracks moments before the locomotive whizzed by, police said.

The 32-year-old Pacoima resident, whose name was withheld, was taken to Olive View Medical Center for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation, said Sgt. Ignacio Verduzco of the LAPD's Foothill station.

Patrol officers Andrew Mathes, 24, and George Molina, 25, were sent at 3:35 p.m. to the 12300 block of San Fernando Road, between Polk and Hubbard streets, to check on reports of a man sitting on the Metrolink tracks. "This guy took off running from them," Verduzco said.

The man ran north on the tracks, as the southbound train bore down at full speed. "He was screaming and yelling: 'I want to kill myself,' " Verduzco said.

"As these officers were chasing him down, two other officers attempted to flag down the train conductor to get him to stop," the sergeant said.

Officers Angela Stewart, 28, and Rene Zavala, 31, caught the conductor's attention, and he blew the train's horn. Verduzco said the train and the man were only about 100 yards apart - not sufficient braking distance for a 300-ton locomotive.

"Officers Mathes and Molina were able to tackle and wrestle the man off the railroad tracks as the train sped past them," Verduzco said. "It was pretty hairy."

On Friday night, another man running across the tracks was hit by a 65-mph Metrolink train near San Fernando Road and Van Nuys Boulevard. The man's leg was severed when he was clipped by the northbound train, and he died the next day.