W. Hunter Hudson rescued Walter R. Griffith from electric shock, Spruce Pine, North Carolina, August 5, 1929. As Griffith, 46, carpeter, was carrying a wire, one end of which was attached to a pole at a point 21 feet above the ground, the wire got in contact with a high-tension wire on the pole, and Griffith was shocked. He fell unconscious on his back on the ground, both hands grasping the wire, and smoke and electric flashes appeared at his hands. Although warned, Hudson, 22, bricklayer, stood within eight feet of Griffith and shoved a board under the wire, lifting the wire and causing it to slip through Griffith’s hands. Hudson moved backward as the wire continued to slip, and when the end went through Griffith’s hands, it slid down the board to within two feet of Hudson’s hand. Hudson quickly threw the board aside and jumped to avoid contact with the wire. He was not injured. Griffith was seriously burned but recovered in a maimed condition.
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