Jean Mehelich, 17, schoolgirl, saved Paula E. Perkovich, 17, from drowning, Chisholm, Minnesota, August 7, 1965. When Miss Perkovich lost control of the four-door sedan in which she and Miss Mehelich were riding, the automobile plunged down a steep bank, turned over, and entered a lake, where it sank in water and mud eight feet deep 20 feet from the bank. Miss Perkovich lost consciousness. Miss Mehelich, badly dazed, was thrown against the windshield, which was dislodged. She climbed through the opening and surfaced. After regaining her breath, she submerged in the muddy water. Surfacing intermittently for air, Miss Mehelich scooped mud away from the door on the driver’s side until she was able to open it. The overturned sedan which was tilted slightly away from her, settled further until it was covered except for part of one tire. Miss Mehelich submerged again, keeping the door open with her body and holding to the sedan to keep from being drawn into it. She extended her head and arm into the automobile but could not find Miss Perkovich. Miss Mehelich moved into the sedan until she was inside to her waist. She found Miss Perkovich and took hold of her. Grasping the seat and then the door frame, Miss Mehelich pulled herself backward until she was clear of the sedan and Miss Perkovich’s head and shoulders were outside. Miss Mehelich surfaced and raised Miss Perkovich onto the bottom of the automobile. Miss Perkovich revived, and both swam to the bank.
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