Edward W. Perdue rescued Jerry D. Britt from burning, Snellville, Georgia, March 3, 1961. At night the sedan in which Britt, 22, carpenter’s helper, was riding with two other persons went out of control, rolled over several times, and crashed into the front of Perdue’s tractor-trailer, which had been stopped. Perdue, 33, truckdriver, leaped out and ran to the side of the overturned automobile. Fire had broken out over the entire front end of the sedan, and Perdue saw Britt lying unconscious in the open doorway with one leg in flames burning inside the vehicle. Perdue pulled Britt the rest of the way through the door and dragged him a safe distance away. Thinking there might be others in the burning automobile, Perdue ran back toward it. When he was within six feet of the sedan, an explosive spread of flames enveloped the entire automobile. Flames rose as much as 15 feet in gusts, and others issued from the side to within a foot of Perdue, preventing him from giving further aid. Firemen arrived 15 minutes later and extinguished the flames, which had consumed all but the metal parts of the sedan. The other two occupants burned to death. Britt regained consciousness, was treated for severe burns and recovered.
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