Gerald L. Ribeiro helped to rescue Raymond A. Pittsley from burning, Freetown, Massachusetts, August 16, 2004. Pittsley, 80, was the driver of a dump truck that, in a highway accident, overturned onto its driver’s side in the grassy median of a highway. Fuel leaked onto the grass. Other motorists, including Ribeiro, 33, delivery van driver, stopped at the scene and approached the dump truck. Pittsley appeared unconscious. The men reached through the windshield and were struggling to pull Pittsley out when fire erupted suddenly at the truck and repelled them. Ribeiro returned to the truck and pulled Pittsley from the cab, then laid him on the ground. After obtaining a fire extinguisher, one of the other men returned, and he and Ribeiro dragged Pittsley to the highway. Injured and burned, Pittsley was hospitalized but succumbed nine days later. Ribeiro likewise required hospital treatment for burns, including second-degree, to his face, arms, and a leg.
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