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“The woman was ablaze. I don’t know if she jumped off the tractor or fell off, but she was a human torch,” Norman Davis, of Pembroke Township, said about a rural Hoopeston woman whose farm tractor was smashed by a semitruck on Illinois Route 1 about 7:30 a.m. June 11.

Davis, a guard at the Danville Correctional Center, and fellow guard Austin Rhodes, of Hoopeston, received rare commendations Wednesday from Illinois Department of Corrections Director S.A. Godinez for their life-saving response to the fiery crash.

Rhodes was following the semi, with Davis right behind him, all doing about 60 mph, when the semi hit the tractor as it was being turned left, two miles south of Hoopeston. The tractor was smashed into a concrete bridge railing and burst into flames, setting the driver on fire.

“Rhodes and I were out of our vehicles at the same time and running towards the woman,” Davis said. “We got there and naturally started patting her to put the fire out.” Their bare hands were all they had for the purpose.

While they sat briefly, trying to keep her awake, Davis spotted the semi driver under his cab, then pulled him to the side of the road and away from the fire.

And there’s more, so go read the whole thing.

Wow.

* From my former intern Barton Lorimor…

If I am allowed any kind of special request: my good friend and former Paul Simon Public Policy Institute boss Matt Baughman got a big promotion at SIU today. Going from being David’s lieutenant to Assistant to the Chancellor, which is essentially the campus COS. Very very good man and loyal reader. Any chance he could get a shout out on Comments Closed?

Consider it done. Congrats, Matt.

* Everybody, try to chill this weekend…

My time of year

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 5:17 pm

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