Edward S. Hall, Jr., 38, tool setter, attempted to rescue Carroll M. Lee, 34, truck driver, from electric shock, Millersville, Maryland, September 12, 1953. While Lee was driving on a highway in a tank-truck, a rear wheel of the vehicle came free of the axle and rolled away. Lee immediately stopped the truck at the edge of the roadway and alighted. Soon afterward a fire broke out at the rear of the trailer supporting the cargo-tank, which contained 5,000 gallons of gasoline. Fed by gasoline flowing from a break in the tank, the flames increased in intensity and attained a height of 50 feet. Volunteer firemen were summoned. Two overhead utility lines carrying high voltage were melted by the flames and fell to the ground, a section of one line extending along a level grassy strip three to six feet from the truck. Hall, a volunteer fireman, arrived and joined in efforts to prevent the flames from spreading. Although warned to stay clear of the truck, Lee left the highway and made his way along the side of the truck opposite the fallen utility line in an attempt to disengage the burning trailer. He stepped into a small pool of water and dropped to the ground. On the ground near Lee gasoline was burning in small gusts of flame. A fireman who tried to approach Lee felt the current through his shoes and saw that the utility line was emitting sparks. Hall crossed the wet grassy area and also felt the current through his shoes. He continued cautiously to within two feet of Lee. As he bent forward to take hold of Lee, Hall was shocked severely and fell to the ground across the utility line, most of his body resting in a pool of water. He soon lost consciousness. A fireman engaged the hook of a pike-pole to Hall’s belt and drew him from the wire. The flames near Lee were extinguished, and the current was shut off. Lee could not be revived and was pronounced dead of electric shock. Hall, who was revived, suffered severe electrical burns of the legs and lesser burns of the face and body which healed completely in eight months. 43114-3968
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