Sargeant

California Highway Patrol

8/27/2020

Special Act Award (Gold)

At 6:43 a.m. on August 27, 2020, a private civilian airplane was departing from Benton Airpark and crashed just after take-off. From his office window, Sergeant Jeff Edgerton noticed that a private airplane was attempting to takeoff at an unusual altitude that was not consistent with sustained flight. He announced to everyone in the office that a plane was about to crash and multiple employees exited the office towards the runway. The airplane departed the runway complex, crossed Placer Street, and crashed into a steep, brush-filled ravine. Lieutenant Michael Berry and other Air Ops personnel entered their patrol vehicles and immediately responded to the scene. Sergeant Edgerton arrived on scene within approximately one to two minutes of the crash and proceeded down the steep embankment to the crash site. One group of officers found the first victim about ten feet from the burning fuselage. And another few officers found a second victim, roughly 20 feet from the flaming aircraft. Officer Pohrman utilized a patrol vehicle fire extinguisher to put out the fire on and around the second victim. Once the fire was mostly out, they moved the second victim further from the fuselage in time to avoid the aircraft’s onboard oxygen tank’s secondary explosion. Two officers were successful in keeping the fire from engulfing the first victim. Sergeant Edgerton helped two officers pull the first victim away from the burning aircraft and brush. Sergeant Edgerton continued to search for other victims and coordinated with Lieutenant Berry to perform a systematic grid search. Unfortunately, the only two other occupants of the aircraft remained trapped inside and perished. Sergeant Edgerton and the CHP personnel carried the injured victims up the steep embankment and coordinated scene management with allied agencies. The wife of the pilot who perished in the crash arrived on scene and Sergeant Edgerton arranged for a chaplain to respond for her. With no regard for his own safety, Sergeant Edgerton went above and beyond the call of duty. The State of California takes great pride in presenting this Gold Medal of Valor to California Highway Patrol Sergeant Jeff Edgerton.