Tomas Rudy Montoya rescued Minh C. Vo from burning, Irwindale, California, August 11, 1997. Vo, 25, was the driver and sole occupant of an automobile that, in the middle of the night, left a freeway and went down an embankment, then came to a rest against a fence, where it caught fire. Among motorists witnessing the accident and stopping at the scene was Montoya, 21, college student. He immediately descended the embankment to the car, finding Vo unconscious inside. Despite flames both inside the car and outside it in the immediate vicinity, Montoya opened the driver’s door, leaned inside, and struggled to free Vo, whose clothes were aflame. After repeated attempts, Montoya pulled Vo from the car, then dragged him to a point of safety. The car became engulfed by flame. Vo was hospitalized for treatment of severe burns, and Montoya required hospital treatment for second-degree burns to his hands, from which he recovered.
72024 – 8203
72024-8203