Harvey L. Newton, 23, metal worker, saved Estelle M. Dorst, 56, from being struck by a train, Richmond, California, December 29, 1965. At a railroad crossing Mrs. Dorst’s sedan skidded on the wet pavement, and one rear wheel became wedged between a rail and the edge of the crossing, holding the automobile on the track on which a freight train was approaching at 55 m.p.h. Mrs. Dorst tried in vain to move the vehicle as the train rounded a bend 1,200 feet away. The engineer applied the emergency brakes and sounded the horn, but Mrs. Dorst remained in the sedan. Newton ran 45 feet to the door at the driver’s side and opened it. The train then was 800 feet away. Newton leaned into the sedan and took hold of Mrs. Dorst. He lost his footing briefly, but he pulled her out of the automobile. Both then slipped on the wet pavement, and Mrs. Dorst fell to her knees. Newton lifted her and thrust her from the track as the train approached to within 100 feet. Mrs. Dorst fell across the adjacent track, and Newton threw himself atop her to shield her. The train struck the sedan at slightly reduced speed and stopped 650 feet beyond the crossing. Mrs. Dorst suffered a cut leg from being struck by flying glass.
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