Nurse, 33, tried to jump in front of a train but the engineer saved her and now they are married

A 33-year-old woman who tried to commit suicide by sitting in front of a train has told of her astonishing ability to survive – which she credits to a train driver who later became her husband.

Mother-of-three Charlotte Lay suffers from complex mental health issues, including PTSD, which left her feeling like there was no way out one day in 2019.

One morning, on her way to the hospital in Yorkshire, where she worked as a nurse, she decided to ‘impulsively’ jump from the platform onto the tracks and ‘sit there and wait’.

A train approached gradually and stopped in front of Mrs. Lay. The driver, Dave Lay, got out of his cab, knelt in front of her and introduced himself.

He told her they would discuss matters “until she felt comfortable enough” to board the train with him.

The pair talked for half an hour, by which time Mrs. Lay agreed to board the train.

He dropped her off at Skipton Station, where she was left in the custody of police.

Mr Lay had never received specialist training in mental health. He said he simply said “all the things he wished he could have said” to other people who died by suicide.

Mother-of-three Charlotte Lay, 33, made the ‘impulsive’ decision to stand on the train tracks on her way to her job as a nurse in the NHS

The next day she looked him up on Facebook to thank him for the kindness he showed during her moment of crisis at Crossflatts Station in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Mr. Lay responded and said he was available whenever she needed to talk to someone.

After this initial contact, they began exchanging messages daily.

This went on for two months until the couple finally agreed to meet for coffee.

The rest is history: They married three years later while Mrs. Lay was 22 weeks pregnant with their first child.

She said, “The conversation [on the train tracks] As far as I can remember it was only about everyday things and about both of our lives, but it was enough to break the crisis.

‘Life didn’t feel so hard anymore. The next day I made it my mission to find the man who had been so kind to me.

‘I found him through Facebook and some of his colleagues. Now he is my husband.’

But on that day in 2019, her future husband, northern locomotive engineer Dave Lay, 47, slowed down and got out to talk to her for half an hour. They later married when Mrs Lay was 22 weeks pregnant with their first child

Recalling the day of her suicide attempt, she said: ‘I don’t know exactly what prompted it, but it was an impulsive decision.

‘I was in my uniform, fully prepared for work, but something didn’t feel right.

‘When I got off the train, I just sat on the platform. The conductor asked if I was okay and I said yes.

‘When he sensed something was wrong he asked again if I was sure and I said yes and the train pulled away.’

It was then that she decided to climb onto the track.

She said: ‘I hope that by sharing my story people will realize that whilst it would be ideal if we all had specialist training in dealing with a mental health crisis, we are all able to help by to be empathetic and present.

‘I still receive support for my mental health now, and I think I always will.

“But I’m so grateful to Dave for stopping that day and being so patient and understanding.

“I would have understood if he didn’t want to hear from me, but I just wanted to thank you for giving me your time and treating me like I was human.”

Mr. Lay was equally relieved to hear from her, as he had “never had the opportunity before” to get off the train and talk to someone in crisis.

He told the BBC: ‘I needed to know she was okay. I had contacted the police to find out what happened to her and just wanted to make sure she was safe.

‘I felt like I had a duty to make sure she was okay. We had that tire built up on the side of the track. It was just nice to be able to make that difference for someone.”