H.R. No. 71R E S O L U T I O N WHEREAS, Curtis Patterson of Waco was recently honored by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for saving the life of a fellow Texan on June 12, 2001, and this well-deserved accolade provides a fitting opportunity to commend Mr. Patterson's heroic actions; and WHEREAS, En route home from her job in Waco, Margaret Ratliff, a 33-year-old mother of three, lost control of her car and struck a utility pole near China Spring; the pole snapped, and live wires sparked a grass fire beneath the car; and WHEREAS, Mr. Patterson was also headed home from work when he observed Ms. Ratliff trapped inside her Mercedes and quickly came to her aid; disregarding the lethal threat posed by the downed power lines, he pried open the passenger-side door, cut her free from her seatbelt, and pulled her to safety; moments later, the car was completely engulfed in flames; and WHEREAS, The prompt intervention and quick thinking of Curtis Patterson saved Ms. Ratliff from serious injury or possible death, and the spirit of selflessness and bravery that he displayed is truly deserving of recognition; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas Legislature hereby commend Curtis Patterson for his exceptional courage and composure in the face of a life-threatening situation; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Mr. Patterson as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Dunnam Craddick Giddings Merritt Allen Goodman Miller Alonzo Goolsby Moreno of Harris Bailey Griggs Moreno of El Paso Baxter Grusendorf Morrison Berman Guillen Mowery Bohac Gutierrez Naishtat Bonnen Haggerty Nixon Branch Hamilton Noriega Brown of Kaufman Hamric Oliveira Brown of Brazos Hardcastle Olivo Burnam Harper-Brown Paxton Callegari Hartnett Pena Campbell Heflin Phillips Canales Hegar Pickett Capelo Hilderbran Pitts Casteel Hill Puente Castro Hochberg Quintanilla Chavez Hodge Rangel Chisum Homer Raymond Christian Hope Reyna Coleman Hopson Riddle Cook of Navarro Howard Ritter Cook of Colorado Hughes Rodriguez Corte Hunter Rose Crabb Hupp Seaman Crownover Isett Smith of Tarrant Davis of Harris Jones of Lubbock Smith of Harris Davis of Dallas Jones of Bexar Smithee Dawson Jones of Dallas Solis Delisi Keel Solomons Denny Keffer of Dallas Stick Deshotel Keffer of Eastland Swinford Driver King Talton Dukes Kolkhorst Taylor Dunnam Krusee Telford Dutton Kuempel Thompson Edwards Laney Truitt Eiland Laubenberg Turner Eissler Lewis Uresti Elkins Luna Van Arsdale Ellis Mabry Villarreal Farabee Madden West Farrar Marchant Wilson Flores Martinez Fischer Wise Flynn McCall Wohlgemuth Gallego McClendon Wolens Garza McReynolds Wong Gattis Menendez Woolley Geren Mercer Zedler ______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 71 was adopted by the House on January 28, 2003, by a non-record vote. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House