David Jardine saved LeRoy A. Marsteller from an impending fatal fall, Sharon, Pennsylvania, July 28, 1960. At an electrical products plant Marsteller, 36, pipefitter, was working from beams 40 feet above the concrete floor with his head below uninsulated charged wires when an electrical arc occurred. Marsteller lost consciousness and fell, one foot becoming wedged between a beam and a crane truck and holding him head-downward in a vertical position. Jardine, 58, pipefitter, climbed a ladder onto the beams, which were slippery in places. He walked along one beam to near Marsteller and then swung himself downward onto another beam eight inches wide 35 feet above the floor. Grasping Marsteller around the waist with both arms, Jardine raised him enough to free his foot. The weight of Marsteller forced Jardine into a squatting position on the narrow been. As Jardine held him alongside the beam, Marsteller began to moan and squirm. Jardine supported Marsteller and maneuvered him with great effort onto the beam as he continued to squirm at times. Maintenance men arrived and removed Marsteller by means of a lift. Jardine descended the ladder. Marsteller had sustained head injuries but recovered.
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