David E. Luttrull helped to rescue Robert J. and Phyllis L. Kopytko and Paul R. Brundridge from being struck by a boat, Kimberling City, Missouri, June 11, 1994. Kopytko, 47, and his wife, 38, were passengers in an 18-foot boat operated by Brundridge, 58, on Table Rock Lake when the boat veered suddenly and threw them into the water. The boat continued out of control, in circles, and struck and seriously injured them. Luttrull, 33, train dispatcher, boating nearby with his brother-in-law and others, witnessed the accident and approached the scene. He maneuvered his 18-foot boat into the circle made by the runaway boat and positioned it alongside the runaway. The two boats collided, the runaway partially mounting the side of Luttrull’s boat. Luttrull’s brother-in-law pushed on the runaway to shove it away; it continued around the bow of Luttrull’s boat and partially mounted it again, on the opposite side. Luttrull turned over the controls of his boat to his brother-in-law, then climbed into the runaway and shut off its motor. Luttrull then pulled Kopytko aboard; other boaters removed Mrs. Kopytko and Brundridge from the water. Kopytko and Brundridge died of their injuries. Mrs. Kopytko required extensive hospitalization for treatment of her injuries, which included the loss of an arm.
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