NORTH COAST, Calif. – Two Lake County Sheriff's deputies and a Northshore Fire paramedic/EMT will be honored next month for saving a Lucerne woman from her sunken pickup last year.
Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Christopher Chwialkowski and Deputy Nicholas La Velle, and paramedic/EMT Laura Carr will be among this year's group that the American Red Cross, Sonoma, Mendocino & Lake Counties will honor for courageous acts at its 11th annual Real Heroes breakfast.
The event will take place beginning at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, April 17, at the Doubletree Hotel in Rohnert Park.
The Red Cross said the breakfast is a highlight event in the local chapter's calendar, as it significantly benefits the continuation of essential disaster aid services and classes the Red Cross provides to support the communities of all three counties.
Heroes are acknowledged in 10 categories which highlight the heroic deeds of community members in Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties.
The categories include medical, humanitarian adult, humanitarian youth, law enforcement, environment, rescue professional, education, heroic deed, military and animal.
Chwialkowski, La Velle and Carr will be honored in the law enforcement category.
The three came together in their life-saving effort on the afternoon of March 21, 2013.
Ann Adams, 71, of Lucerne was driving her pickup along Highway 20 west of Lucerne when she went off the roadway and into Clear Lake, as Lake County News has reported.
The pickup quickly sank as passersby stopped and tried to help Adams, who was trapped inside.
Chwialkowski arrived, borrowed a sledgehammer from Frank Haas of the Callayomi County Water District – who had stopped to call 911 – pulled off his uniform and swam out to Adams' pickup, using the hammer to bust out a window.
La Velle and Carr also arrived and went into the water to help with the rescue, bringing Adams safely to shore and moving her into a Northshore Fire ambulance. She had injuries to her right arm and left leg.
The Board of Supervisors presented certificates of commendation to Carr, Chwialkowski and La Velle – along with Haas and Lucerne resident Doug Arnold, who had assisted with the rescue – on April 9, 2013.
Following is a snapshot of all of the heroes to be honored at the breakfast.
Medical: Sara O'Donnell, who co-founded the Cancer Resource Center of Mendocino County, the first nonfacility based cancer resource center from Marin County to the California-Oregon border.
Humanitarian Youth: Riley Orton, who organized numerous drives and fundraisers for children in the region and abroad.
Humanitarian Adult: George Kennedy is second biggest contributor of time at the Ukiah Senior Center, spending more than 35 hours per week running the lunch program among other duties.
Law Enforcement: Lt. Christopher Chwialkowski, Deputy Nicholas La Velle and paramedic/EMT Laura Carr. These three first responders rescued a 71-year-old woman whose truck was completely submerged in Clear Lake following a crash.
Environment: Nick Papadopolous and Gary Cedar co-founded www.CropMobster.com , an online platform that connects food producers to hungry consumers through crowd-sourcing on the Internet.
Rescue Professional: Paul Bradley, Donald Ricci and Deputy Chris Mahoney. The three men airlifted several rescue volunteers, trapped on the side of a large cliff, to safety following their nighttime rescue of an injured hiker.
Education: John Bribiescas co-founded Schools Plus, a nonprofit program developed to save and supplement enrichment programs throughout Santa Rosa schools.
Animal Hero: Chris Kittredge has volunteered with Canine Companions for Independence for more than 20 years, raising dozens of puppies to become service dogs for people with disabilities.
Military: Tim Blair founded Transformational Sailing in 2002, a program that helps military veterans and others suffering from PTSD.
Heroic Deed: Jason O'Donnell, Heath Blackwell, Ken Butler, Jack Johnson, Robert Winn recovered the body of diver Craig Willes two days after rescue crews had given up their search.
Visit the Red Cross online at http://www.redcross.org/ca/santa-rosa .
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