Mark H. Terryn helped to save Duane R. Ely from burning, Ludington, Michigan, July 22, 2002. Ely, 52, remained in the driver’s seat of his pickup truck after an accident in which the truck was struck in the rear by another pickup and propelled from the highway onto the grassy shoulder. Ely’s truck had burst into flames at its rear, and spilled gasoline burned on the ground around it and on the highway. Several motorists, including Terryn, 49, emergency room technician, stopped at the scene. Terryn mounted the hood of the burning vehicle, joining another man who had removed a large piece of the windshield by stomping on it. Having provided towels to lay on the broken glass, Terryn reached through the windshield opening with the other man for Ely but found him stuck. After the other man entered the cab to his waist and freed Ely, Terryn and he pulled Ely, head first, through the windshield opening and onto the hood as flames from the rear of the truck advanced toward the cab. Terryn and the other man carried Ely from the truck. Ely required hospital treatment for neck and back injuries.
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