A. Lee Johnson died after attempting to rescue Bunyon and Thomas R. Little from burning, Summerfield, Louisiana, August 31, 1951. Bunyon, 55; his son Thomas, 32; Johnson, 57, who was a timber cutter; and Johnson’s son were occupants of a trailer-truck that collided with a sedan. Johnson was thrown from the trailer and suffered a severe ankle injury. As the truck halted, flames broke out in the cab. Johnson obtained a cant hook and made his way toward the passenger side of the cab but could get no closer than six feet from the door because of intense heat. He began striking the door with the hook in an effort to engage it. An explosion occurred inside the cab, showering Johnson’s clothing with burning gasoline, but he maintained his position and continued his effort to open the door. A man approached Johnson, and Johnson told him that the truck’s main gasoline tank had not exploded. The man stepped onto the bumper of the truck and removed Thomas through its windshield. Flames then had enveloped the cab and rose six feet at the window openings. Thomas was burned severely, most of his clothing having been consumed by the flames. The man returned to Johnson, who had not moved and whose clothing was afire, and pulled him farther from the cab door. As he was leading Johnson away, the truck’s main tank exploded, sending flames 20 feet high. The flames burned for three hours and destroyed the truck and the sedan. Thomas succumbed to his burns, and Bunyon, Johnson’s son, and the driver of the sedan perished in the flames. Johnson had severe burns over most of his body and died five hours later. 42429-3793
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