Warden

Department of Fish and Wildlife

6/17/2011

Special Act Award (Gold)

On June 17, 2011, at approximately 3:12 p.m., Warden Kyle Kroll was patrolling the north fork of the Feather River when he heard a 911 call about a vehicle over the cliff and into the river. He was five miles away. He arrived on scene to find the car teetering on a rock, approximately 100-150 feet below the highway in a section of the river that was flowing fast and extremely cold due to the warm weather and snowmelt. Warden Kroll descended the cliff, crossed the river, and found a male driver coming in and out of consciousness with a large amount of blood flowing from his head, nose, and mouth. The female passenger had numerous lacerations, but was conscious. Warden Kroll provided basic first aid to the woman and asked her to apply pressure to her husband’s wounds. Warden Kroll determined the woman had no neck or spinal injuries and at her request, decided to remove her from the car. As she moved however, he felt the car shift. He told her she needed to stay in the car until more help arrived as Warden Kroll realized the weight of the driver and passenger was balancing the car on the rock and, if it moved, the car would be caught in the rapids and washed downstream. He retrieved a tow strap and chain from his truck and got under the car to attach straps to the front and rear axles. He, and a PG&E worker that had just arrived, tied the straps to a tree and a rock to stabilize it. Fire rescue personnel and CHP arrived on scene. There was concern about the victims falling into the river during the extraction, so with a CHP Officer holding his belt, Warden Kroll again got underneath the car, attached the chain to it and secured it to a tree. It was then determined that the Jaws of Life were needed. Fire rescue personnel were still concerned that the vehicle could fall into the river when they climbed onto the roof, so a tow truck lowered its winch cable, and Warden Kroll and a CHP officer went under the car and attached it to the frame. Warden Kroll helped remove the man and woman from the car and up the cliff where they were taken by helicopter to the hospital. Sadly, the man did not survive, but his wife recovered from her injuries.