Note: The story below was emailed to all Caltrans employees on Nov. 14 by the Caltrans Employee Recognition Program.
The Governor’s State Employee Medal of Valor Award is the highest honor the State of California can bestow upon its employees and is awarded to individuals who have performed an extraordinary act of heroism above and beyond the call of duty to save the life of another person or State property.
It is with great pride to announce four of our very own Caltrans employees have been selected to receive this prestigious award!
Join us in congratulating this year’s Governor's State Employee Medal of Valor recipients:
Travis Sutton
Travis Sutton
(Caltrans Equipment Operator II, District 2)
On March 10, 2021, Travis Sutton was conducting snow removal operations on State Route 70, when he noticed snow tracks leading from the roadway towards the Feather River. Mr. Sutton inspected the area and spotted a vehicle in the river and an individual asking for help.
Mr. Sutton took immediate action by making his way down to the young woman and helping her by pulling her up onto the large rocks that were too big and slippery for her to climb. Upon reaching the roadway, Mr. Sutton provided her a sweatshirt and rain jacket in efforts to warm her up. He noticed she was bleeding from her head and her lips were turning purple.
He acted quickly by having her to sit in the plow truck to warm up, while he deployed road flares. The California Highway Patrol and area EMS arrived at the scene and transported the young lady to the hospital. His courageous and lifesaving actions are deserving of this award!
Matthew Pina
Matthew Pina
(Caltrans Highway Maintenance Leadworker, District 4)
On January 12, 2021, Matthew Pina was dispatched to the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge to assess a vehicle parked and abandoned, adjacent to heavy evening commute traffic, in dark and foggy conditions. Mr. Pina looked around for the driver and then intercepted a radio call regarding a pedestrian walking on the bridge nearby.
He looked and found the pedestrian standing on the outer railing of the bridge. Mr. Pina used his tow truck as a shield and protective barrier to traffic and made contact with the distressed young man who appeared to be contemplating suicide. The individual informed him that nobody loved him, and he did not want to live.
Mr. Pina took immediate action and spoke compassionately and calmly while encouraging him to live. He was able to safely guide the young man to climb back over the railing to safety. Mr. Pina continued to show compassion and engage with the young man until the California Highway Patrol arrived on scene.
It is because of Mr. Pina’s quick thinking and compassionate actions that this young man is still alive, he is deserving of this award.
Ryan Aguirre
Ryan Aguirre
(Caltrans Highway Maintenance Worker, District 8)
On November 8, 2020, Ryan Aguirre, along with his coworker Steven Garcia responded to a hard closure on State Route 38 for downed powerlines. Mr. Aguirre and Mr. Garcia established the hard closure with signs and traffic cones and parked roughly fifty feet behind the closure to repair snow tire chains on the vehicle they were driving.
As Mr. Garcia was under the vehicle adjusting the tire chains, Mr. Aguirre stood above his coworker as a look out for out-of-control vehicles. Several minutes went by as the two employees attempted to repair the tire chains, when an errant vehicle speeding out-of-control in the snow crashed through the signs, barricade, traffic cones and past a California Highway Patrol vehicle parked across the roadway with its emergency lights activated.
Due to Mr. Aguirre keeping a watchful eye out for vehicles, without hesitation, he instinctively pulled Mr. Garcia out from under the truck and away from imminent danger. The vehicle crashed into the rear of the Caltrans pickup that the two employees were working on. This action on Mr. Aguirre’s behalf prevented Mr. Garcia from being struck while lying on the ground under the Caltrans pickup.
Mr. Aguirre placed himself in the direct path of the oncoming vehicle and without his attentiveness and action to pull his coworker to safety, Mr. Garcia could have been seriously injured. Therefore, his spontaneous lifesaving actions are deserving of this award.
James Burkhouse
James Burkhouse
(Newly retired, Caltrans Equipment Operator II, District 8)
On April 2, 2020, while on his way to work, James Burkhouse came upon a major two-vehicle head-on traffic collision between a small passenger vehicle and a fully loaded tractor trailer on State Route 18 in the rural town of Lucerne, California. As the first to arrive and leveraging his previous experience as a paid on-call firefighter, Mr. Burkhouse acted without hesitation looking past the chaos and wrecked vehicles and went to work immediately triaging and assessing the involved victims.
The first vehicle that Mr. Burkhouse came upon was a small passenger vehicle with massive front and side end damage. The vehicle also had major intrusions into the driver’s side of the vehicle, pushing the firewall of the vehicle and the steering wheel into the driver. Upon completing a trauma assessment, Mr. Burkhouse determined that the driver was struggling to breathe, had massive hemorrhaging, a compound long bone fracture, and many other life-threatening injuries.
An off-duty Mercy Air helicopter paramedic arrived with medical equipment and Mr. Burkhouse intuitively assisted the off-duty paramedic with applying several tourniquets on the driver, holding the driver’s neck in a neutral position, and using a bag valve mask to breathe for the driver. It took San Bernardino County Firefighters roughly an hour and a half to remove the driver from the wreckage once they arrived on scene.
The driver was air-lifted to a local area trauma center where he was in a coma for several months following many emergency surgeries. The victim has since made a miraculous recovery.
The driver happened to be James Burkhouse’s’ fellow state employee and Leadworker. He survived this life changing accident because of the quick and decisive actions that Mr. Burkhouse chose to employ that morning at the accident scene. Therefore, his instinctive lifesaving actions are deserving of this award.
Please enjoy this congratulatory video from Caltrans Director Tony Tavares,
To view the Medal of Valor Ceremony, which recognizes all recipients statewide, watch this video.
For more information on the Medal of Valor program, visit the Employee Recognition Program page.