Francis X. Jordan, 52, district circulation manager, saved John A. Bechtel, 87, retired purchasing agent, from being killed by a train, Tarentum, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1953. At a railroad crossing, a sedan Bechtel was driving stalled on a track on which a freight train was approaching at a speed of 25 m.p.h. Jordan and several other men reached the sedan but were unable to push it clear of the track. Jordan hurried to the door at the driver’s side of the sedan just outside the track as the others withdrew. Bechtel sat hunched forward in his seat tightly clutching the steering wheel. Jerking open the door, Jordan broke Bechtel’s firm hold on the steering wheel when the train was 75 feet away. As he began pulling Bechtel from the sedan, Jordan lost his balance and fell to the ground two feet from the track. Bechtel slid from the seat and landed partly atop Jordan’s legs. Grasping Bechtel’s overcoat, Jordan rolled three feet farther from the track with him as the locomotive, running at a slightly reduced speed, struck the sedan. It was badly damaged by the impact and spun around, barely missing Bechtel and Jordan. The train stopped 300 feet beyond them. Bechtel was uninjured. Jordan was extremely nervous but recovered. 42773-3900
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