Ottis D. Houston, 28, farmer, rescued Hilas D. Sharp, 30, truck driver, from burning, Maynardville, Tennessee, March 16, 1951. Sharp was the driver of a tank-truck which collided with an automobile during a drizzle. Thrown from the truck as it veered just off the roadway, Sharp landed unconscious on the edge of the highway near the rear of the cargo-tank, which had three compartments and contained 4,000 gallons of gasoline. Smoke rose from the truck, and gasoline flowed onto the ground from punctures in the tank. The automobile, which was occupied by James W. Jordan, his son E. Ray, and another man, was wrecked and stopped upright at the opposite side of the road 20 feet from the truck. The windshield and windows of the automobile were shattered. The Jordans and the other man sustained severe injuries and were rendered unconscious in the wreckage. Ottis and his brother Kenneth C. Houston alighted from a truck and ran 175 feet to the wrecked vehicles. Ottis reached Sharp’s position, and Kenneth made his way to the automobile. The cargo-tank suddenly erupted in a burst of flame 75 feet high and gusts of flame rising six feet above the roadway for 25 feet on each side of the tank swept across the highway to the automobile. Dense smoke was above the gusts, and heat was intense. Ottis and Sharp momentarily were enveloped by the flames. Grasping Sharp, who was 50 pounds heavier than he, Ottis dragged him 30 feet to safety. Kenneth was driven from the automobile by the heat. Verlie H. Monroe, running 300 feet from his home, reached the other side of the automobile. At Monroe’s call for aid, Kenneth returned to the automobile. Unable to open the door, which was jammed, Monroe and Kenneth reached through a rear window and pulling James Jordan outside carried him to safety. The fuel-tank of the automobile caught fire, and the upholstery was ignited. Dense, choking smoke filled the interior and issued from the windows. Gusts continued to project from the tank to the automobile, and heat remained intense. Using a board, Monroe and Kenneth pried an opening between the door and the frame and with difficulty freed Ray from the wreckage. Thinking all occupants had been removed, they carried Ray clear of the highway. Monroe later learned of the third occupant of the automobile and recovered the charred body of the other man from the wreckage. The cargo-tank burned for 10 hours, all of the gasoline being consumed. Sharp sustained severe head and body injuries and second- and third-degree burns of the legs. He was hospitalized eight days. Ottis suffered burns of the hands, wrists, face, and neck which healed in three weeks. 42233-3715
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