Melvin Guevara died helping attempt to save John J. Olivas from being struck by a motor vehicle, Cerritos, California, January 1, 2006. Olivas, 20, was the driver of a sport utility vehicle that crashed at night on a freeway and came to rest upright in the traffic lanes. Stunned, he remained in the driver’s seat. An approaching vehicle containing Guevara, 24, sheriff’s department special officer, stopped on the highway shoulder at the scene. Reporting the accident by cellular telephone, Guevara crossed traffic lanes to reach the driver’s side of the sport utility vehicle. He attempted to open the driver’s door, then he reached through the window and unfastened Olivas’s safety belt. Another vehicle approached at high speed and struck Guevara and another man who was present, killing them. The disabled vehicle was also struck, after which Olivas escaped from it to safety.
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