Mark Lee Bennett helped to save Johnnie E. Williamson, Jr., from burning, Fort Valley, Georgia, June 2, 1997. Williamson, 49, was trapped in the cab of his tractor-trailer after the truck collided with a moving train, derailing it. Flames broke out at the tractor, the driver’s side of which was against the train. Traveling nearby, Bennett, 25, service repair manager, and another man saw the accident. They ran to the passenger side of Williamson’s truck and pulled on the door, which was jammed. Instructing Williamson to kick the door, Bennett and the other man partially opened it, allowing Williamson to get his upper body out. Standing on one of the truck’s fuel tanks, Bennett grasped Williamson and pulled him the rest of the way out of the truck as the other man continued to pull on the door to enlarge the opening. By then, flames had spread to the cab. Bennett and the other man walked Williamson away from the tractor, which was shortly engulfed by flames and was destroyed. Williamson was treated at the hospital for a burn to his right arm and other injury, and he recovered.
72027 – 8208
72027-8208