Kevin D. Shaw died after saving Helena T. Wilkinson from burning, Ellsworth, Kansas, August 15, 2004. Wilkinson, 23, remained in the cab of her pickup truck after an accident in which the vehicle left the highway, overturned, then came to rest upright and aflame in its engine compartment. Traveling on the same highway, Shaw, 48, corrections officer, witnessed the accident. He stopped at the scene, approached the burning truck, and, despite growing flames, attempted to open its passenger door. Wilkinson extended her arms through the rear window of the truck’s cab, and Shaw grasped them and pulled her from the vehicle. He took her to a point of safety away from the truck, then collapsed to the ground. Paramedics took him and Wilkinson to the hospital, where Wilkinson was treated for her injuries. She recovered. Shaw could not be revived; he had died of a heart attack.
77907 – 8900
77907-8900Obituary
Kevin D. Shaw, 48, of Ellsworth, Kan., died on Aug. 15, 2004, at Ellsworth County Medical Center. He was born on Aug. 28, 1955, in Ellsworth, the son of George and Joan Price Shaw.
He lived most of his life in Ellsworth, spending a short time in Enid, Okla. He was a TAC officer and jailer at the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Department, past Ellsworth County EMT, and past owner of the Mister Muffler Shop in Enid. He belonged to the Kansas State Sheriff’s Association.
He is buried in the Kanopolis Cemetery in Kanopolis, Kan.
(Edited from an obituary in the Hutchinson, Kan., News, Aug. 18, 2004.)