Lee Peden helped to save Mark Daniel from burning, Gumbranch, Georgia, October 6, 2000. At night, Daniel, 35, remained in the cab of his pickup truck after an accident in which the vehicle left the roadway, struck a utility pole, and went down an embankment. Fire broke out in its engine compartment. Ms. Peden, 20, college student, drove upon the scene and was stopped by a man who had already found Daniel in the wreckage. Ms. Peden and the man went to the passenger side of Daniel’s truck, the flames on which had grown considerably by then and were entering the cab. They reached through the window of the passenger door, grasped Daniel, and attempted to pull him out, but he resisted the attempt. Persisting, they pulled him through the window just before an explosion at the truck threw them to the ground. Ms. Peden and the man then carried Daniel up the embankment toward the roadway as the truck became engulfed by flame. Daniel was hospitalized for treatment of his injuries. Ms. Peden was treated at the hospital for minor cuts to her arms. She recovered.
75339 – 8697
75339-8697