Dennis R. Hayes died helping to save Thelma L. Magnin from drowning, St. James, Missouri, September 14, 1995. Ms. Magnin, 70, was the operator of an automobile that left the roadway and entered a pond. Its windows and doors closed, the car floated nose down in water about nine feet deep. Other motorists, including Hayes, 34, construction engineer, stopped at the scene. Hayes waded and swam to Ms. Magnin’s car, then returned to the bank for a hammer which was used to break the car’s rear window. The car sank shortly after Ms. Magnin crawled through the window onto the trunk, and she then struggled with Hayes and others who had gone to her aid. Ms. Magnin was returned safely to the bank, but Hayes was discovered missing. He was recovered near the point where the car had sunk and was pronounced dead of drowning. Ms. Magnin required hospital treatment, but she recovered.
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