Transportatin Engineer (Civil)

Department of Transportation

2/13/2017

Special Service Award (Silver)

On February 13, 2017, at 11:00 a.m., Transportation Engineer Theodore ‘Tad’ Sampson was inspecting the Contractor’s slide removal operations near Baxter on Interstate 80, approximately 70 miles east of Sacramento in the Sierra mountain region of District 3, when the operator of a Spider Excavator fell and was immediately sucked under the excavator by a moving mass of mud, logs, and slide debris. Mr. Sampson, along with three other contractor personnel placed themselves in harm’s way among the unstable moving mass of slide debris to extricate the operator who was completely unresponsive with only the top of his hard hat and part of his hand visible. The victim was also pinned underneath the excavator by the steel safety cable used to tether the Spider Excavator to the slope. With the victim trapped underneath, a second Spider Excavator operator carefully adjusted the excavator’s position to relieve the tension in the steel cable while Mr. Sampson and two other contractor employees extricated the victim from the moving mass of mud, logs, and debris. Within minutes, these four brave men were able to free the victim from underneath the excavator and move him to a safe area where they were able to clear his airway, allowing the victim to regain consciousness and begin breathing on his own. There is no question without their immediate and heroic efforts, the victim would not have survived. The victim was transported to a local area hospital for observation with only minor injuries. With no regard for his own safety, Engineer Sampson’s heroic service saved the life of a man from suffocation by mudslide. The State of California takes great pride in presenting this Silver Medal of Valor to Civil Transportation Engineer Theodore Sampson.