Officer

California Highway Patrol

7/13/2007

Special Act Award (Gold)

On July 13, 2007, at 6:00 p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Corben Whitney was off-duty and traveling eastbound on State Route 152 east of Dunne Lane in his car when he saw a gray Volkswagen van approaching from the opposite direction. The van collided with a concrete wall and was pinned between the wall and the mountainside. The van immediately erupted into flames. Officer Whitney stopped and helped the driver and his eight year old nephew out and away from the burning van. Officer Whitney asked the driver if anyone else was in the vehicle. Then he heard the sound of a young child screaming from within the now fully engulfed van. Officer Whitney returned, looked inside the open sliding passenger side door of the van through the smoke and flames, and saw a four year old seated in the rear seat of the van, buckled in a car seat, and covered in flames from the waist up. The boy was screaming and covering his face with his hands. Officer Whitney reached inside the burning van and grabbed the boy’s shirt which tore from his body and burst into flames.

Then he grabbed the boy’s right leg and tried to pull him out of the van. The child’s seatbelt prevented the rescue and the fire swelled down to the floor board forcing Officer Whitney to let go of the child and back away from the flames. Officer Whitney reached into the van a final time and grabbed the boy’s leg with both hands and pulled with all his strength. The seatbelt gave way and the child was pulled free from the burning van. Officer Whitney extinguished the flames from the boy’s body, rendered first aid, and took the victims through blocked traffic to an area where emergency medical personnel could provide aid. As a result of Officer Whitney’s efforts the child survived.