Robert W. Smith helped to save Vicky F. Eyre from burning, Santa Clarita, California, February 13, 1999. Ms. Eyre, 42, struggled to escape her Jeep after it collided with a bus and caught fire in a highway accident. She shouted for help. Smith, 41, utility supervisor, and a friend, traveling on the same highway, witnessed the accident and stopped at the scene. They ran to the Jeep, where flames were issuing from the engine compartment and spreading, precluding access to the doors. Smith and his friend went to the rear of the vehicle, where they gained access to the inside by tearing a hole in its plastic rear window. Standing on the rear bumper, Smith and his friend reached into the Jeep, grasped Ms. Eyre, and pulled her out of the vehicle and to the pavement. They then picked her up and carried her away from the Jeep, which was shortly engulfed by flames. Ms. Eyre required hospitalization for extensive injury.
73489 – 8404
73489-8404