Terry R. Pease

Terry R. Pease saved Lindsey M. and helped to save Melissa M. Bauer from burning, Cambria, Wisconsin, August 25, 2003. Lindsey, 3, was in her car seat in the back seat of an automobile driven by her mother, Ms. Bauer, 26, when, in a highway accident, the car was knocked off the roadway and into a farmyard. Ms. Bauer was trapped in the wreckage, from which flames issued in the engine area. Pease, 40, quality assurance monitor, and a friend drove upon the scene and stopped. Pease opened the car’s right rear door and removed Lindsey while his friend attempted to gain entry to the vehicle on its driver’s side. Unsuccessful, he entered the back-seat area of the car from its passenger side and pulled on the driver’s seat to free Ms. Bauer while Pease entered the front-seat area and did the same. Flames entering the car through its broken-out windshield ignited the dashboard and ceiling. After his friend managed to pull the seat back, Pease worked to free Ms. Bauer’s legs, which remained trapped underneath the dashboard. The men then maneuvered Ms. Bauer into the back seat and removed her from the car. Lindsey and Ms. Bauer required hospital treatment for injuries received during the collision, but neither was burned. Pease sustained minor burns to his hands and head, and he recovered.