First at the scene of a nighttime, interstate highway accident on Aug. 3, 2018, in Waynesburg, Pa., medics Scott Ullom and Zachary A. McDowell did not wait for protective equipment to rescue 24-year-old Eric J. Stroud, Jr., who was trapped in the driver’s seat of a burning SUV. Unable to open the driver’s door, Ullom, a 59-year-old paramedic of Dallas, W.Va., went to the rear of the SUV and entered through the rear hatch door, while 22-year old emergency medical technician McDowell, of Prosperity, Pa., sprayed a fire extinguisher at flames burning near Stroud. From the cargo area, Ullom crawled to Stroud, who was tangled in his seat belt. Once Stroud was freed, Ullom dragged him to the back of the vehicle, where McDowell waited to assist. Together they pulled him from the SUV, which was shortly engulfed by fire. Stroud sustained severe head injuries and burns to his legs and hands.
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