A Nurse Married the Train Driver Who Stopped Her from Killing Herself on Railroad Tracks. She Returned the Favor by Saving His Life

A British nurse who married the man who saved her from suicide by train has now returned the favor years later.

Charlotte Lay first met her now-husband Dave Lay in the summer of 2019. Charlotte, who said she has struggled with her mental health since she was a teenager, made an "impulsive decision" to go on to the train tracks to attempt suicide, as reported by SurreyLive.

However, someone alerted the conductor and the next train stopped for Charlotte. The train driver got off and introduced himself as Dave, and proceeded to just talk to Charlotte until she agreed to get off the tracks and stay with police.

"The conversation from what I can remember was just about mundane things and about both our lives, but it was enough to break the crisis. Life didn't feel as heavy anymore," Charlotte told SurreyLive.

Desperate to thank Dave for his kindness, Charlotte said she took to Facebook to see if anyone could connect them. One of Dave's colleagues found her message, and shared his phone number with her, as reported by the BBC.

The two agreed to meet for coffee two months later, and later began dating. But just a year later, Dave accredited Charlotte for saving his life this time.

Dave said Charlotte repeatedly told him to go to the doctor after complaining of a bad back. While visiting for that reason in July 2020, Dave was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Dave said that a hospital consultant told him that if he had not been diagnosed when he was, he likely would have died.

"Charlotte may say I saved her life, which I don't know about really, but she saved my life as well," Dave told the BBC.

Dave was declared cancer free weeks later. The two are still together, and got married in 2022. They now share three children together. Charlotte told the BBC, "Life does get better. You just have to be here to see it."