"Remember, the gutter maybe got like a 12-inch drop. So his body fitted in there perfectly. And I just laid on top of him, and had to pin him down," he said.
Actually, when he explains it like that its no big deal. He had a whole 12 inches.
(Double WOW!)
The key line to me was this
"Autrey guessed there was maybe an inch or inch and a half clearance between his head and the underside of the train. "
One inch clearance? That's incredible. He is indeed lucky to be alive.