Timothy Lee Hays helped to save Randall J. Shaver from burning, Rochester, Indiana, April 13, 1998. Shaver, 44, state trooper, was suspended by his safety belt inside his patrol car, which had overturned and started to burn on its underside after a head-on collision. Hays, 31, store manager, who arrived first at the scene, approached the patrol car and attempted to open its driver’s door. He was unsuccessful. The county’s sheriff, who had arrived at the scene shortly after Hays, joined him, and the two men together then pulled the door open. As Hays left to obtain a fire extinguisher, the sheriff cut Shaver’s safety belt, freeing him. Hays returned to the car, which was quickly becoming engulfed by flame, grasped Shaver, and, with the sheriff, pulled him out. They dragged him away from the car but sought refuge on the ground when ammunition in the burning car began to explode. Shaver was hospitalized for treatment of multiple, serious injuries.
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72673-8292