Highway Maintenance-III

Department of Transportation

1/27/1970

Special Act Award (Gold)

On January 27, 1970, about 3:20 p.m., Russell Hawkins, Highway Maintenance Man-III, was returning to the Central Maintenance yard in Los Angeles after a day of erecting highway signs. He was driving with a coworker, Rodney Neal, travelling southbound on the Golden State Freeway, just south of Broadway. “We saw a big metal box, approximately 6 feet long, a foot wide and 18 inches high lying between the #3 and #4 lanes, with debris scattered around it.” Russell told his coworker that they needed to stop and remove it as it was a hazard. Russell pulled over to the shoulder and both he and Mr. Neal carried the box back to the shoulder. There was only moderate traffic at the time. Russell’s coworker was just about to rake up the debris out of the travel-way, while he went back to flag the moderate traffic from the #4 to the #3 lane. Then Russell looked up and saw a huge, cab-over diesel tractor-trailer loaded with scrap car bodies driving in the right lane, right behind a 4-door Plymouth sedan with a woman driver. He realized it was coming in too fast to stop for the slowing traffic, and he knew it was going to hit approximately in the place where he was standing, so he ran for safety to the onramp. There was a grinding crash…..an eyewitness driving in the lane to the left of the huge diesel truck stated: “The big truck plowed into the back of the woman in the Plymouth. It took her right along with it…the truck driver cut to the left and jackknifed his truck…and he kept pushing her car, she went into another car, and both passenger cars were turned completely around and heading north. The diesel truck caught on fire, I stopped 50-60 feet away, and the huge truck was on its right side, as it had slid clear across the freeway, blocking three lanes.” After Russell heard the crash, he looked up and saw the burning truck, and in front of it the Plymouth, which was also on fire. Russell saw the truck driver get out of his rig, and the three passengers of the second car were getting out of theirs, but there was no sign of life from the burning Plymouth. Russell ran over right away to see if the people in it were injured, thinking “someone would be dead among such a mass of wreckage.” The back end of the car was on fire, as the gas tank had exploded. When Russell got to the car, he saw just one woman by herself, laying in the backseat and unconscious, and he knew he had to get her out before the whole car exploded and become totally engulfed in flames. He tried the back door on the driver’s side, but it was jammed shut and he couldn’t open it. Russell then got inside through the driver’s front door, behind the wheel. Russell pulled the woman over the front seat and out of the front door. There was spilled gasoline on the ground and the trunk area was now fully ablaze. Russell couldn’t discern any apparent injury to the woman, so he grabbed her under the arms and dragged her across the freeway to the shoulder on the far side, fearing “the car was about to blow up any minute.” Russell’s coworker saw the entire scene unfold before him, but only able to run for cover out of the way of the oncoming truck. He wanted to help Russell, but could see there was scarcely enough room in the smashed car for even Russell to crawl inside. The coworker watched Russell bring the woman across the freeway, helped cover her with his coat, and heard Russell Hawkins radio Los Angeles Communications for an ambulance. He also saw Mr. Hawkins later try to put out the fire in the car with an extinguisher, to no avail. The accident victim later told the Highway Patrol that Russell Hawkins had saved her life and “should be given recognition for it.” Russell Hawkins performed an extraordinary act of heroism, at great risk to his safety and life, in saving the life of another person, and is truly a courageous hero.