Tim Castor saved Roger L. Hamrick from burning, Bryan, Ohio, September 29, 1999. In a highway accident, the van that Hamrick, 44, was driving left the roadway and struck a regulator on a natural gas line. The van came to rest atop the regulator, and gas escaping under pressure from the line ignited and set fire to the front of the van. Castor, 39, sales and service representative, was one of the passing motorists who stopped at the scene. He entered the smoke-filled van through its front passenger door and, despite flames having entered the van about its pedals, grasped Hamrick, who remained in the driver’s seat, and pulled. Hamrick was caught in the wreckage by his right foot. Castor freed the foot, then maneuvered backward, pulling Hamrick from the van. Castor and two other men at the scene carried Hamrick away from the van moments before the front of the vehicle was engulfed by flames. Hamrick was taken to the hospital for treatment, and Castor sustained minor burns on his hands and showed signs of smoke inhalation. Both recovered.
74099 – 8433
74099-8433