David D. Bartaway attempted to save an indeterminate number of persons from being struck by a pickup truck, Trenton, Michigan, July 12, 2003. More than 100 people were attending an arts and crafts festival on a block-long section of a street that was closed to vehicular traffic, when a disoriented man drove a pickup truck past the barricades and continued down the street. Standing nearby, Bartaway, 42, letter carrier, saw the pickup approach, its speed about 10 m.p.h. Bartaway immediately ran about 75 feet to the driver’s side of the pickup and yelled at the driver to stop, but the driver ignored him. Running alongside the vehicle, Bartaway tried to open the door, but it was locked. He then grasped the outside mirror and pulled himself up to and head first partially through the opened driver’s window. His legs extending out of the truck as it continued on the street, Bartaway attempted to remove the vehicle’s ignition key and gain control of the steering wheel, but the driver resisted him by striking him repeatedly. After the pickup had traveled about 120 feet with him aboard, Bartaway pushed himself out the window. He fell to the pavement, landing face down. The pickup continued to an intersecting street, where it struck a delivery truck and came to a stop. Police officers at the festival arrested the driver. Bartaway was treated at the hospital for a broken nose, broken bones in one hand, and multiple cuts and bruises. He missed seven weeks’ work and required physical therapy and pain management treatment.
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