Wreckage of vehicle from which R. Wayne Trivette and Timothy A. Holtz II pulled Grace E. Makula. Courtesy of Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department.
R. Wayne Trivette and Timothy A. Holtz II
R. Wayne Trivette

R. Wayne Trivette and Timothy A. Holtz II saved Grace E. Makula from burning, Jasper, Michigan, July 21, 2015.

Badly injured and unconscious, Makula, 25, remained in the driver’s seat of a sport utility vehicle after it was involved in a head-on collision, left the roadway, and began to smoke in its engine compartment.

Traveling on the same highway, Trivette, 67, retired truck driver of Metamora, Ohio, witnessed the accident and stopped at the scene. He responded to the sport utility vehicle, where he aided the three children in Makula’s care through a window and directed them to safety.

Flames were breaking out in the vehicle’s engine compartment as Trivette then tried to open its driver’s door, but the door was jammed.

Holtz, 35, business operator of Sand Creek, Michigan, responded about then from a job site nearby. Obtaining fire extinguishers from his truck and other motorists who stopped at the scene, he and Trivette fought the flames, but to limited effect.

As Holtz was unable to open the burning vehicle’s doors, he returned to his truck for a large wrench, which he used to break out the windows of the vehicle’s front doors.

With flames growing and spreading on the front of the vehicle, Holtz leaned through the window opening of the driver’s door and cut Makula’s safety belt. He and Trivette then worked to force that door open partially, after which they reached inside the vehicle, grasped Makula, and, pulling her free, carried her to safety, flames beginning to enter the front of the passenger compartment.

Makula required hospitalization for treatment of severe injuries, but she was not burned. Holtz recovered from minor burns to his hands and arms.

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Carnegie Hero R. Wayne Trivette, left, shakes hands with Fairfield Township Supervisor Larry Keck, as Carnegie Hero Timothy A. Holtz II looks on. Photo courtesy of Fairfield Township.
Carnegie Medal presentation to R. Wayne Trivette and Rimothy A. Holtz II
From left, Amboy Township Trustee Rick Rabb shakes hand of Carnegie Hero R. Wayne Trivette, while Carnegie Hero Timothy A. Holtz II displays the Carnegie Medal. Photo courtesy of Fairfield Township.
R. Wayne Trivette and Timothy A. Holtz II
Carnegie Heroes R. Wayne Trivette and Timothy A. Holtz II. Photo courtesy of Fairfield Township.
From left, Amboy Township Trustee Rick Rabb, Carnegie Heroes R. Wayne Trivette and Timothy A. Holtz II and Fairfield Township Supervisor Larry Keck. Photo courtesy of Fairfield Township.

Carnegie Medal presentation to R. Wayne Trivette and Timothy A. Holtz II

Carnegie Heroes R. Wayne Trivette and Timothy A. Holtz II were presented the Carnegie Medal by Amboy Township trustee Richard Raab and Fairfield Township Supervisor Larry Keck at a Fairfield Township board meeting, held March 13, 2017. Holtz and Trivette saved a 25-year-old from a burning sport utility vehicle after head-on collision in Jasper, Mich., in 2015.