Jason J. Hahn

Jason J. Hahn helped to rescue Donna K. Rench from burning, Mason City, Iowa, April 5, 2021. Rench, 61, remained inside a truck after it traveled off a rural road, overturned, and came to rest on its passenger side. Suspended by her seat belt, Rench could not exit the truck. Jason J. Hahn, 48, business owner, was driving nearby and saw smoke issuing from the underside of the truck. He stopped and went to the truck, where he heard Rench yell for help, but failed to see her as smoke filled the cab. Hahn broke the front windshield with the help of another man. Flames had by then spread to the truck’s engine and inside the cab onto the dashboard. Hahn extended his upper body inside through the windshield but, unable to remove Rench’s seat belt, retreated and retrieved a knife from his vehicle. He entered the cab, cut the seat belt and released Rench, who fell into the back-seat area. Hahn, unable to see Rench due to the dense smoke, felt around in the back seat until he found her. Hahn held onto Rench as the other man grasped Hahn’s belt and pulled Hahn, and ultimately Rench, out of the truck. Rench was carried to the other side of road, and the truck’s cab was shortly engulfed by flames. Rench sustained fractures, lacerations, and contusions to her body. She was not burned. Hahn who had inhaled smoke, was treated at a hospital for an injured right shoulder and a laceration that required sutures. He recovered.