Jeffrey A. Gartner rescued Steven A. Maclean from a runaway truck, Menlo Park, California, August 29, 2000. When Maclean, 51, lost consciousness while driving a tractor-trailer at about 25 m.p.h. on an interstate highway, the rig left the highway, hit a concrete wall alongside it, and continued to travel on the shoulder. It was morning rush hour, and the truck was headed toward the ramps of a highway interchange less than a half-mile away. Driving behind the rig, Gartner, 28, highway patrol officer on duty, saw the accident. He drove alongside the tractor-trailer and saw Maclean slumped over in the seat. Gartner pulled ahead of the rig, parked on the shoulder in front of it, and ran toward the tractor-trailer as it approached. The rig’s speed having slowed to about 15 m.p.h., Gartner jumped onto the running board of the tractor, entered the cab through the driver’s door, and stepped on the brake pedal, taking the tractor-trailer to a stop just short of the patrol car. Gartner and another man removed Maclean from the cab and worked to revive him until other help arrived. Maclean was taken to the hospital, where he died two days later of the heart attack he had suffered.
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