Ronald P. Denitz, 31, attorney, rescued Donald L. Atkins, 14, schoolboy, from electric shock and drowning, Newport Beach, California, August 8, 1959. When he fell from an inflated rubber raft in Newport Bay, Donald grasped a metal conduit on the side of a floating dock and received a heavy electrical shock due to worn insulation on a wire inside the conduit which carried 120 volts of electricity. Unable to release his hold, he called for help. Denitz, who wore only swimming trunks and a shirt, was attracted and grasped Donald by the wrist with one hand, which was slightly damp, intending to lift him onto the dock. Denitz experienced a violent electrical shock and jerked his hand away, deciding then that Donald was in contact with a charged wire beneath the surface of the water. Holding to a concrete piling, Denitz with the heel of his bare foot kicked Donald’s hand, breaking his hold on the conduit. Donald, who then was unconscious, sank in water 10 feet deep. Although he feared he might come in contact with an energized wire Denitz jumped into the water. He was submerged and saw Donald three feet away two feet beneath the surface and slightly under the dock. Denitz swam underwater to Donald and hesitantly grasped him around the chest but experienced no electrical shock. He surfaced with Donald alongside the dock and then towed him 20 feet to wadable water. Securing footing, he waded to the beach with Donald. Another man administered artificial respiration, and Donald began to revive. Donald was removed to a hospital, where he recovered after treatment for shock. 44804-4370
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