Dale Eugene Wilborn attempted to save Joseph A. LeBlanc from an impending gasoline fire, Ravenna, Ohio, September 13, 1976. In a highway accident, the sedan driven by LeBlanc, 32, struck the side of a truck, rupturing that vehicle’s fuel tank and releasing gasoline which flowed under the automobile. Wilborn, 21, rubber worker, and others ran to the sedan, where no flames had appeared. By the time access had been gained to LeBlanc, who was unconscious inside the vehicle, the men had become aware of the gasoline. Despite warning from the others, Wilborn extended his upper body into the sedan, grasped LeBlanc, and partially removed him. The others were at various distances from the automobile when the gasoline ignited with an explosion that knocked Wilborn away from the vehicle and blew LeBlanc out of it into the burning fuel, which burned him fatally. Wilborn also sustained burns but recovered after hospitalization. 55406-6302
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