Shawn M. McLean saved Deanna R. Hanyon from burning, Maine, New York, December 20, 2006. Restrained by her safety belt, Deanna, 17, was suspended upside down in the driver’s seat of her car, following an accident in which the vehicle left the roadway and overturned in a ditch. Fire erupted on the undercarriage of the car. Motorists stopping at the scene included McLean, 37, automobile mechanic. Unable to access the driver’s side of the car because of its positioning in the ditch, he broke out a window on the passenger side and crawled into the vehicle. He maneuvered to a point below Deanna and with difficulty unfastened her safety belt. Pulling Deanna with him, McLean moved back to the window and left the car with her. Fire soon entered the interior of the vehicle, and it was shortly engulfed by flames, which destroyed it. Deanna was taken to the hospital but was not detained, and McLean suffered a minor cut on his hand that did not need treatment.
80019 – 9164
80019-9164