JohnsonFour employees of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) have received the Governor’s State Employee Medal of Valor Award, the top award for state public servants in California for showing “courage in the face of danger” while on duty.
HellonGov. Edmund G. Brown Sr. first presented the awards in 1959, and roughly 600 state employees have been honored since then.
“All Caltrans employees are honorable servants of the state of California—with many exposed to the elements, explosives, heavy equipment and fast-moving traffic, but once in a while an employee will display extraordinary bravery, courage and selflessness in the face of danger,” says Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “We honor those employees and thank them for their continued service.”
Equipment Operator II Mark Johnson received his Gold Medal of Valor for pulling a trapped pregnant woman from a burning her car after she had crashed into his Caltrans skip-loader In June 2015. After helping her to safety he put out a grass fire that had started from the incident.
Ackley and HartmanA Gold Medal of Valor award went to Senior Photographer Stevon Hellon for risking his live to save another human life. He was taking pictures for the agency in December 2014 at the Merced Amtrak station when he pulled a woman from between the train station platform and a moving train.
Silver Medal of Valor recipients Dave Ackley and Dain Hartman, both equipment operators, rescued an injured flight instructor from a burning crashed aircraft in a rural area near State Route 36 in Humboldt County in February 2012.
The pair called for help to airlift the injured instructor to a hospital, and with their coworkers from the Bridgeville Maintenance Crew, put out a grass fire caused by the incident.
