Ira M. Kephart, 34, locomotive engineer, saved Myrtle S. Zelley, 27, from drowning, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, October 28, 1917. Mrs. Zelley fell from a footbridge into the Mahoning Creek about 50 feet from the bank. The water was turbulent, and there was a current of 4 to 5 m.p.h. Kephart, who was dressed, threw off his coat, ran on the bridge to a point opposite Mrs. Zelley, and jumped into the creek. He swam 25 feet to Mrs. Zelley and grasped her. He then touched bottom on a bar, but the current swept them off the bar, and they went under the surface. Mrs. Zelley grasped Kephart’s arm, but he broke her hold, and they rose to the surface. Kephart made three unsuccessful attempts to touch bottom, taking Mrs. Zelley under the surface each time. When they were nearly 240 feet downstream from the bridge, Kephart touched bottom and waded with Mrs. Zelley to a point near the bank, where others met them. Mrs. Zelley was unconscious but revived. 18479-1497
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18479-1497