Mark Wayne Hebrink rescued Charles F. Kayser from burning, Dunkerton, Iowa, August 12, 2005. Kayser, 33, was trapped in the cab of his pickup truck after a highway accident in which the pickup, struck by an automobile, veered into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer. The pickup struck the tractor, rupturing the pickup’s fuel tank, and burst into flame after coming to rest in contact with the tractor. Hebrink, 45, truck driver, was driving the tractor-trailer. Exiting the vehicle uninjured, he saw Kayser attempting to escape the pickup, the doors of which were jammed. Despite flames engulfing the pickup, including its cab, Hebrink reached through the open window of the driver’s door, grasped Kayser, and pulled him from the vehicle. The men fell to the pavement, then stood and fled the immediate scene. Kayser rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames on him, then with Hebrink moved farther away as flames spread to the tractor, destroying it. Kayser was hospitalized three months for treatment of extensive, severe burns. Hebrink was hospitalized overnight for treatment of first- and second-degree burns to his right hand and forearm and an abrasion to his left knee.
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