Bradford Cushman Smith, 15, schoolboy, saved Kenneth M. Chase, 23, poultryman, from burning, Gardiner, Maine, July 29, 1965. When his two-door sedan was struck from behind and swerved into another vehicle before stopping, Chase was thrown into the rear seat and suffered a concussion. The sedan’s fuel tank was ruptured, and flames broke out at the rear of the automobile. Smith ran 100 feet to the right door of the sedan, on which the flames had spread to the top of the trunk and through the broken rear window to the top edge of the rear seat. Opening the door with effort, Smith pulled forward the back of the front seat and extended his upper body into the rear seat compartment. He freed Chase from a blanket in which he was entangled. By then flames completely covered the rear end of the sedan on the outside and had spread along the entire top of the rear seat. Smith moved fully into the rear compartment, pulled Chase to the doorway, and backed out of the sedan. He removed Chase from the automobile and carried and dragged him 20 feet away. The fuel tank then exploded, engulfing the sedan in flames which rose 10 to 15 feet. Firemen extinguished the flames. Chase, whose hair was singed, recovered from injuries sustained in the accident.
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