Officer

California Highway Patrol

8/3/2019

Special Act Award (Gold)

On August 3, 2019, at approximately 12:59 a.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Shaun Conner, and Officer William Dunn were assisting at the scene of a crash on southbound Interstate 5, south of Via California. Officers Conner and Dunn suddenly heard a loud crash and saw a large fireball dissipating into the air on the opposite side of the freeway. Both officers immediately responded to the scene. Upon his arrival, Officer Dunn heard another loud explosion and saw a white vehicle had crashed into a metal guardrail. The vehicle had landed on its left side and the front end was fully engulfed in flames. Officer Dunn quickly retrieved the fire extinguisher from the patrol vehicle and ran toward the flames. As he approached, Officer Dunn heard a woman screaming from inside the vehicle. Officer Dunn utilized the fire extinguisher to attack the flames, but due to the fire’s intensity, the fire extinguisher was ineffective. Officer Conner and his partner provided a traffic break to slow vehicle traffic and arrived on scene shortly after Officer Dunn arrived. Seeing the dangerous circumstances, Officer Dunn climbed onto the metal guardrail, utilized his baton, and broke open the right-rear window. Officer Conner also climbed onto the guardrail and assisted with open the right-front window. Both Officers Dunn and Conner could hear screaming coming from inside the vehicle, but due to the thick smoke and poor lighting, neither officer could find the woman inside. Officer Conner broke open the glass sunroof and despite the thick smoke and intense heat from the fire, he reached into the burning vehicle, located the woman, and pulled her out. Orange County Fire Authority arrived on scene, extinguished the fire, and transported the woman to the hospital with minor injuries and smoke inhalation. Officer Conner placed himself in extreme danger and risked his life to save the woman from certain death. With no regard for his own safety, Officer Conner went above and beyond the call of duty. The State of California takes great pride in presenting the Gold Medal of Valor to California Highway Patrol Officer Shaun Conner.