Joseph Ornelas
Officer
California Highway Patrol
2/5/2001
Special Act Award (Gold)
California Highway Patrol Officer Joseph Ornelas, on February 5, 2001, performed an act of heroism at risk to his personal safety as he caught a woman in mid-air as she jumped off a freeway overpass.
At approximately 10 a.m., on February 5, 2001 Officer Joseph Ornelas along with Officer T. Gowin, and Officer J. O’Neil responded to a report of a possible jumper from a freeway overpass. He located Ms. Yauger as she sat on top of the south bridge railing, eastbound Interstate 205 over Tracy Blvd. She removed her shoes and placed them on the road next to the bridge rail. The Ms. Yauger would not respond to conversation or acknowledge the officers presence. She suddenly turned around, slipped her shoes back on, and began walking towards the north side of the freeway overpass. The three officers began moving towards the north rail in an attempt to cut her off. Ms. Yauger reversed her direction and began running towards the south rail again.
Officer Ornelas was closest to her and he tried cutting her off from the south rail. Ms. Yauger reached her at the south rail before Officer Ornelas and climbed over to the outside of the rail and let go, beginning her fall to the ground below. Officer Ornelas was able to reach the south rail at about the same time Ms. Yauger released herself. Officer Ornelas, without taking time to asses the danger to himself, reached over the edge of the overpass and was successful in grabbing Ms. Yauger as she fell, putting himself in a precarious position. He was holding onto Ms. Yauger, and because of the low height of the bridge rail, had nothing to hold onto or brace himself with as he kept both of them from falling to the ground below. Officer Ornelas held onto the now wildly flailing woman until the other two officers reached him a few seconds later. Between the three officers, they were successful in lifting the resisting Ms. Yauger back into the safety of the freeway.