Robert J. Albanese rescued Judith I. and Jason M. Munroe from a runaway vehicle, Woburn, Massachusetts, July 10, 1991. Mrs. Munroe, 41, was driving her van in the southbound lanes of a divided highway when she lost consciousness and slumped over the steering wheel. Her son, Jason, 9, who was a passenger in the front seat, successfully maneuvered the van but was unable to stop it as it traveled at speeds near 70 m.p.h. Albanese, 36,maintenance engineer, was driving an automobile on the same highway when he became aware of the situation. He increased his car’s speed and positioned the car between the van and a guardrail along the highway median, intending to allow a controlled collision of the vehicles, to stop the van. The vehicles collided, then moved along the guardrail for several hundred feet before Albanese, applying his car’s brakes, took them to a stop. Albanese then exited his car and put the van’s gearshift lever into park. Mrs.Munroe and Jason were taken to the hospital for treatment, but they were not seriously injured. Albanese sustained a bruised chest, from which he recovered.
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