Daniel Lawton
California Highway Patrol Officer
California Highway Patrol
4/28/1994
Special Service Award (Silver)
At approximately 7:40 a.m., Officer Lawson encountered a vehicle partially submerged in the Sacramento River. Officer Lawton was advised by witnesses that the vehicle was occupied by an elderly female and had been in the water for approximately two minutes. Officer Lawton quickly stripped to his trousers and donned his issued life vest and entered the water. As Officer Lawton swam toward the vehicle (30-40 feet offshore), it sank beneath the surface leaving a trail of bubbles. Officer Lawton dove approximately five feet to the sinking vehicle, but was unsuccessful in his attempts to extricate the drowning woman. It was later determined she was a suicide victim.