California Highway Patrol Officer

California Highway Patrol

12/6/2015

Special Service Award (Silver)

On December 6, 2015, at 1:33 a.m., Sergeant Robles was on patrol in the city of Santa Ana when a speeding vehicle passed him. Sergeant Robles pursued the vehicle, with the vehicle accelerating to approximately 120 miles per hour before exiting the interstate. The vehicle lost control, collided with a retaining wall and a wooden telephone pole, and immediately caught on fire. Sergeant Robles exited his patrol vehicle and approached the driver’s side of the vehicle to check the welfare of the driver. Sergeant Robles observed that all of the occupants of the vehicle were unconscious and unresponsive. He attempted to open the driver’s door, but could not because of the collision damage. He ran to the passenger side, but was unable to open the passenger door as well. Sergeant Robles utilized his flashlight to break the front right passenger window in an attempt to extricate the front right passenger. Before he could access the front right passenger, the fire intensified, forcing him to retrieve a fire extinguisher from his patrol vehicle. Due to the intensity of the flames, he was unable to suppress the fire with his fire extinguisher. Several local police officers arrived on scene. The additional officers utilized their fire extinguishers, but they too were unable to extinguish the flames. Sergeant Robles and a Garden Grove Police Officer moved to the driver’s side door of the vehicle and extricated the driver through the window despite the intense heat and fire. Immediately thereafter, Sergeant Robles and a Garden Grove Police Corporal moved to the passenger side and extricated the front right passenger through the window. Sergeant Robles and the police officers attempted to rescue what they believed to be the one remaining passenger; however, the intensity of the heat and flames, coupled with the collision damage, limited their access to the rear occupant. Ultimately, Sergeant Robles and the officers were forced to move away from the vehicle as the flames and heat overpowered them. Once the local police officers extinguished the fire, it was discovered that there were two remaining occupants in the rear seat. One occupant had succumbed to his injuries; the other occupant survived with major injuries.