Stuart:
I have to respectfully disagree, unless the circumstances were really, really, really unusual. Player 2 is far enough from the dealer that his/her cards would be very difficult to accidentally pull into the Muck. The initial responsibility is with the player to protect his/her hand. If we are going to minimize that responsibility why have the rule at all. I have NEVER had a hand accidentally pulled into the muck, mainly because I NEVER let go of my cards, especially when seated to the dealers immediate left or right.
I understand your desire to help this player, but do you do the same thing for every player, every time? If it happened to the same player a couple events later would you rule the same?
Besides the TDA Rules; RRoP, Chap 2, Section 3.4 Irregularities, sub 2 says, "You must protect your own hand at all times. Your cards may be protected with your hands, a chip or other object placed on top of them. If you fail to protect your hand, you will have no redress if it becomes fouled or the dealer accidentally kills it."(emphasis added)
Not to belabor the point, but RRop, Chap 2, Section 3.3 Dead Hands, sub 1, says "Your hand is declared dead if:
... Sub (d), The hand does not contain the proper number of card for that particular game...." This section goes on to explain exceptions for Stud, Lowball and Draw.
Sorry, just my 2 sense worth (yes I know how it is supposed to be spelled)