Sheila Brown saved Heather M. Coward from burning, Alliston, Ontario, July 8, 2003. Ms. Coward, 18, was the driver of an automobile that, in a highway accident, left the roadway and overturned onto its passenger side in the front yard of a residence. Conscious but dazed, Ms. Coward remained in the car, restrained by her safety belt, as flames erupted in the engine area and smoke issued from the front of the car. Residents of the neighborhood, including Ms. Brown, 46, homemaker, heard the crash and responded to the scene. Ms. Brown reached through the open driver’s window to release the safety belt, then left to obtain a stepladder from her garage. Returning, she positioned the ladder next to the roof, then climbed it, reached into the car to grasp Ms. Coward, and helped Ms. Coward pull herself through the window and out of the car. They descended to the ground and fled just before a sudden spread of flames nearly engulfed the car. Ms. Coward was hospitalized for treatment of injuries received during the crash, and she recovered.
77092 – 8827
77092-8827