Charles Hafley
Foreman, Highway Maintenance Technician
Department of Transportation
3/4/1971
Special Act Award (Gold)
On a very frigid, March 4, 1971 day, the actions of Highway Maintenance Foreman, Charles H. Hafley helped save the life of a woman by assisting in a harrowing rescue from the Smith River near Crescent City, Del Norte County. A 72-year-old Fremont, CA woman was driving east approximately 20 miles from the junction with Highway 101 north of Crescent City. Her passenger was a 24-year-old Ballico, CA woman. As the women’s car traveled over a narrow, twisting portion of tortuous Highway 199, the pavement was slick from the half-rain, half-snow that was falling. Rounding one sharp corner known, prophetically as “Dead Man’s Turn”, the car went out of control. According to Highway Patrol reports, the vehicle skidded into the westbound lane, onto the shoulder, then recrossed the highway and plummeted over the bank and into the icy, fast moving Smith River. There, sideways in the narrow, swift river, was the car, with the younger woman clinging to the top of the passenger side door and yelling for help, the current pulling her downstream. Several minutes earlier, Mr. Hafley’s co-worker, Highway Maintenance Technician Bernard O. Arney had been driving his pickup truck west enroute to an assignment down Highway 199 when he noticed skid marks and a reflector post knocked down, stopped, and went to the edge of the road. It was 8:00 a.m., and a half hour of intense action began.
Running down about 30 feet of rip-rap on the bank, Mr. Arney heard her warning that she was slipping and couldn’t hang on much longer. He then sprinted back up the bank and stopped the first passing car, telling the driver to go to Gasquet, seven miles away, and call for the Highway Patrol, ambulance and wrecker, and to send his foreman, Chuck Hafley to the scene. Mr. Arney then stopped two truckers asking for a rope which the second one had. Mr. Arney raced down the bank again. He tied the rope around his chest, he dove into the river upstream from the car and let the current sweep him down to the vehicle. He clambered onto the truck, over the roof, and dropped down next to the 24-year-old woman, who by this time was about to go under. Mr. Arney then grabbed her, putting the rope under her arms, got back on top of the car, and hauled up on the rope, while trying to keep her mouth above water. Mr. Arney was ready to have the men on shore tug her to safety, but then found the rope was snagged and they couldn’t pull her safely to the shore. Just then Chuck Hafley arrived on the scene, donned a wet suit, fixed a second rope to himself and swam out to help Mr. Arney. Mr. Hafley held the woman up while Mr. Arney freed the first rope. Other men on shore pulled and she came out. Unfortunately, the woman’s older driving companion did not survive the plunge into the river. This event was also the first instance that Medal of Valor winners were actually photographed during rescue actions. Mr. Hafley performed an extraordinary act of heroism, at great risk to his own safety and life, in saving the life of another person.
Running down about 30 feet of rip-rap on the bank, Mr. Arney heard her warning that she was slipping and couldn’t hang on much longer. He then sprinted back up the bank and stopped the first passing car, telling the driver to go to Gasquet, seven miles away, and call for the Highway Patrol, ambulance and wrecker, and to send his foreman, Chuck Hafley to the scene. Mr. Arney then stopped two truckers asking for a rope which the second one had. Mr. Arney raced down the bank again. He tied the rope around his chest, he dove into the river upstream from the car and let the current sweep him down to the vehicle. He clambered onto the truck, over the roof, and dropped down next to the 24-year-old woman, who by this time was about to go under. Mr. Arney then grabbed her, putting the rope under her arms, got back on top of the car, and hauled up on the rope, while trying to keep her mouth above water. Mr. Arney was ready to have the men on shore tug her to safety, but then found the rope was snagged and they couldn’t pull her safely to the shore. Just then Chuck Hafley arrived on the scene, donned a wet suit, fixed a second rope to himself and swam out to help Mr. Arney. Mr. Hafley held the woman up while Mr. Arney freed the first rope. Other men on shore pulled and she came out. Unfortunately, the woman’s older driving companion did not survive the plunge into the river. This event was also the first instance that Medal of Valor winners were actually photographed during rescue actions. Mr. Hafley performed an extraordinary act of heroism, at great risk to his own safety and life, in saving the life of another person.