Randy D. Corder helped to save Donald L. Bates from burning, Tucson, Arizona, April 25, 2003. Bates, 72, was the driver of a car that, while stopped at an intersection, was struck from behind by another car. Its fuel tank ruptured, Bates’s car burst into flame and was pushed into the intersection, Bates remaining in the driver’s seat, unconscious. Also stopped at the intersection, Corder, 50, health care giver, witnessed the accident. Despite flames issuing from the rear and along the driver’s side of Bates’s car and from the pavement in those areas, he went to the passenger side, where he leaned through the opened window and attempted to pull Bates out. He could move Bates only part way before he backed out for air. Another motorist who had attempted a rescue approached, and he and Corder leaned into the car together. With Corder grasping Bates’s arms and shirt and the other man grasping his lower body, they pulled him, head first, through the window. A responding police officer helped them carry Bates to the sidewalk. Bates required hospital treatment for minor injuries, but he was not burned. Corder sustained a burn to his forehead, and he recovered.
76866 – 8790
76866-8790