Sudbury Ontario - CP Rail said it stands behind one of its police officers who appeared to be idle at the scene where a woman died, and said he followed proper protocol.
 
Lise Levac, 62, died overnight Friday after four men rescued her when her SUV ran off the road, flipped over, and landed upside down in the creek.
 
The men managed to pull her out after about five minutes.
 
A witness captured the rescue on video and posted it on YouTube, showing a man with "Police" written on the back of his jacket standing on the embankment between the road and the car in the marsh.
 
The man is on a cellphone, standing by while four men worked to free the women.
 
CP Rail spokesman Kevin Hrysak said when the rail officer got to the scene, three men were already working to free the motorist, so the rail cop thought his best bet was to contact first responders.
 
He followed proper protocol by using his cellphone to do that, notifying responders of the exact location of the accident scene, Hrysak said.
 
The officer stayed on the phone to ensure police, paramedics, and fire personnel arrived at the right location.
 
"We say that was a correct action," Hrysak said.
 
The CP Rail officer came under fire in the comment sections of web sites where the YouTube video of the rescue was posted Thursday.
 
It was pulled down Friday morning when news broke that Levac had died.
 
What the 5 1/2 minute video didn't show, Hrysak said, is that the CP police officer performed CPR on Levac after she was pulled from her vehicle.
 
While some assumed the officer was a member of the Greater Sudbury Police, Hrysak explained that CP Rail has its own police force that patrols rail lines for safety, sworn in under provincial legislation called the Railway Safety Act.
 
Carol Mulligan.