State Traffic Officer

California Highway Patrol

5/21/1982

Special Act Award (Gold)

At approximately 9:55 a.m., State Traffic Officer Gregory D. Sobodash responded to a solo vehicle accident along U.S. 101. Upon arrival, Officer Sobodash found the vehicle lying upside down in a dry creek bed approximately thirty feet below the roadway. Observing a fire in the engine compartment, Officer Sobodash requested fire and rescue personnel and then raced to the vehicle. Unable to gain access through the driver’s door, Officer Sobodash attempted to force the passenger door open. Although driven back several times by thick smoke and fumes, Officer Sobodash finally succeeded in entering the passenger compartment. While a fire truck that had arrived on scene was spraying the car with water, Officer Sobodash removed two of the three victims in the vehicle. The third was trapped inside but eventually freed after the vehicle was returned to an upright position. Prior to this action, however, Officer Sobodash reentered the vehicle and utilizing a stethoscope from his EMT kit, determined that the victim had no pulse. Although suffering from smoke inhalation, Officer Sobodash assisted the paramedics in treating and stabilizing the victims. Officer Sobodash was subsequently transported to a local hospital where he was treated for smoke inhalation and released.