Deberah Carruth Brooks attempted to save Travis B. Carruth, Sr. from an impeding explosion, Olton, Texas, June 20, 1993. Carruth, 72, was filling a tank in his pickup truck with propane when leaking propane vaporized and formed a cloud that surrounded the truck and a large, propane supply tank adjacent to it. From her nearby home, Carruth’s daughter, Ms. Brooks, 42, homemaker, saw Carruth immobilized in the truck amidst the vapors. She immediately ran to the supply tank and was in the process of turning its valve off when the propane vapors ignited into a ball of fire that enveloped her, the tanks, and the truck. Aflame, Ms. Brooks ran out of the burning vapor and rolled on the ground to extinguish the fire on her. She sustained severe burns to 40 percent of her body, requiring five weeks’ hospitalization. Carruth died at the scene. 68036-7835
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