Ralph F. Taylor, 52, truck driver, saved James A. Davidson, 36, truck driver, from burning, Sheridan, Arkansas, October 24, 1949. At night during a drizzle, a trailer-truck driven by Davidson skidded and crashed into trees alongside a highway. The truck came to rest upright. The front of the cab was thrust backward and partly caved in, and the left door was bent around a tree. Davidson, who sustained serious leg and body injuries in the crash, was pinned against the door and seat and lay with his head outside the cab atop a gasoline tank. Another tank was ruptured, and gasoline seeped into the ground beneath the cab. Taylor alighted from a truck and ran 70 feet to Davidson. He tried to pull him free but was unable to move him. Another man arrived, and he and Taylor tried to pry open the door with a bar but still could not free Davidson. Using a flashlight, Taylor climbed to the hood and, reaching through the windshield, which was shattered, loosened Davidson’s legs. A tank on the opposite side of the cab suddenly caught fire, and burning gasoline was sprayed onto the cab. The gasoline under the truck became ignited, flames four feet high rising near Davidson and at the front of the truck. Taylor jumped from the hood, and the other man ran 25 feet to a creek. Taylor ran to Davidson and took hold of him around the chest. Pulling backward violently, he freed Davidson and dragged him 15 feet from the cab. The truck was destroyed by the fire. Davidson suffered no burns. Both of his legs were broken, one leg being permanently disabled. Taylor’s hair and eyebrows were singed, and he sustained minor cuts. 3662-41848
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