Edward Werner Couch attempted to rescue Robert L. Owen from burning, Columbia City, Indiana, June 18, 1981. After his tractor-trailer rig crashed into the rear of another rig, Owen, 30, sat pinned in the cab, which was burning. Edward, 16, high school student, climbed onto the driver’s side of the cab, and, standing on a fuel tank, tried to free Owen by reaching into the cab. He was assisted in the attempt by the operator of the other rig, who pulled Edward away from the cab moments before the fuel tank exploded and engulfed the cab in flames. Edward was treated for minor burns. Owen died.
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