Randy J. Marsman helped to save Duane R. Ely from burning, Ludington, Michigan, July 22, 2002. Ely, 52, remained in the driver’s seat of his pickup truck after an accident in which the truck was struck in the rear by another pickup and propelled from the highway onto the grassy shoulder. Ely’s truck had burst into flames at its rear, and spilled gasoline burned on the ground around it and on the highway. Several motorists, including Marsman, 49, builder, stopped at the scene. Marsman approached the passenger side of Ely’s truck and attempted to open the door, but he found it jammed. He then climbed atop the hood of the burning vehicle and stomped on the windshield, until a large piece of it dislodged. Another man joined him on the hood, and they reached through the windshield opening for Ely but found him stuck. Marsman entered the cab to his waist and freed Ely, then he and the other man pulled Ely, head first, through the windshield opening and onto the hood as flames from the rear of the truck advanced toward the cab. Marsman and the other man carried Ely from the truck. Ely required hospital treatment for neck and back injuries, and Marsman received a cut on his forehead, from which he recovered.
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