Marcus L. Eliason saved Jonathan M. Woolverton from burning, Flagstaff, Arizona, December 15, 2017. At night, Jonathan, 17, was trapped inside a burning vehicle after the vehicle traveled off a road, struck a tree, and caught fire. Jonathan’s foot was trapped near the gas pedal and he was unable to extricate himself. A passenger in the vehicle crawled out and phoned a friend, Marcus, 17, high school student, who was nearby in his vehicle and drove to the scene. Marcus approached the driver’s door but was unable to fully open it. Marcus began to pull the window frame down toward the ground, then climbed up onto the vehicle’s roof and sat down with his legs extended over the driver’s door. Using his hands and feet to break the window and push the frame toward the ground, he opened the door farther. Marcus returned to the ground and, despite intense heat and dense smoke, extended his upper body through the space between the door frame and the body of the vehicle. Marcus grasped Jonathan and by pulling on him, freed his foot, then pulled him from the vehicle. He dragged Jonathan away from the vehicle, which was shortly engulfed by flames. Jonathan was hospitalized for a broken leg; he was not burned. Marcus sustained minor burns to his arm; he recovered. 89627-10046
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