Howard P. Judson, 44, truck driver, saved Joanne T. Herrin, 28, and Vivian L. Transue, 55, and attempted to save Georgie C. Lucas, 74, from burning, San Francisco, California, January 26, 1957. As Mrs. Herrin stopped her sedan for a traffic signal, a streetcar in the middle of the street struck a four-door sedan containing Miss Transue and Mrs. Lucas, causing the fuel tank to explode. Pushing the four-door sedan aside and turning it around, the streetcar struck the rear of another trolley and stopped. The Transue automobile was forced against the Herrin sedan, which in turn was pushed against a parked vehicle at the curb. None of the doors of the wrecked automobiles could be opened, and the three women were trapped inside. Flames rose 10 feet above the pavement at the rear end of the Transue vehicle and the adjoining front end of the other sedan, on which the fuel tank under the hood had been ruptured. Judson ran to the Herrin sedan and climbed onto it. He broke the rear window with his foot, pulled Mrs. Herrin through the opening, and aided her to the street. He then moved onto the hood of the four-door sedan in which the rear section of the interior was in flames. Lying across the corner of the roof, Judson reached over the side of the vehicle to within a foot of the flames and took hold of Miss Transue, who had extended her head and arms through an opened door window. As he pulled her upward onto the top of the sedan, she was drawn partially through the flames. Judson aided her to the street and then climbed back onto the hood to try to save Mrs. Lucas. He kicked a hole in the windshield; but smoke and flames from the interior, all of which was afire, forced him to return to the street. Firemen arrived but could not reach Mrs. Lucas, who perished in the flames. Mrs. Herrin sustained minor injuries, and Miss Transue suffered extensive burns which required hospitalization. Judson’s face was reddened, and his hair was singed. They recovered. 44036-4128
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