Timothy Kelty helped to rescue Luiz Rodriguez and Iris M. and Maria L. Morales from burning, Matawan, New Jersey, October 25, 1981. Rodriguez, 22, was semi-conscious in the driver’s seat of his burning automobile following an accident. In the passenger seat was Maria, 17; her mother, Mrs. Morales, 34, was in the back seat. Despite flames 10 feet high covering the front portion of the auto, Kelty, 23, maintenance man, and his brother opened the driver’s door and pulled Rodriguez from the auto. They then returned to it for Mrs. Morales, who was pinned. After some difficulty in freeing her, during which Kelty entered the auto to move a seat, the men pulled Mrs. Morales from the auto, receiving assistance from two teenagers who had arrived. Kelty then ran to the passenger door of the auto, opened it after difficulty, and, despite increasing flames in the interior of the auto, reached inside for Maria, who was aflame. Kelty removed Maria from the auto and carried her away with the assistance of the teenagers. Rodriguez and Mrs. Morales recovered from their burns; Maria, badly burned, died a week after the accident.
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