CLEARLAKE OAKS ? Community service and safety is nothing new for longtime Clearlake Oaks resident Frank Toney. So, when he happened to be in the right place at the right time and knew the right thing to do, he never expected to be rewarded for it.
Toney was one of 20 Caltrans employees, out of 20,000 statewide, who recently received a Governor”s Safety Award. Toney was recognized for quick action taken during a vehicle accident that occurred in July 2008.
“I was just doing my job,” Toney said.
Toney said he left the Caltrans yard in Clearlake Oaks but forgot something and had to return. His return put him in the right place at the right time for a vehicle accident involving a Mediacom truck and a plumbing van. Toney soon learned that a 13-year-old boy was trapped in the van.
Toney, who has extensive emergency medical experience, said he found a crowbar and began prying open the van”s back door. The child, who was complaining of abdominal pain, was safely removed from the vehicle and Toney put a cervical neck brace on him to help keep him stable until the ambulance arrived.
“I was a volunteer fireman for 25 years with the Clearlake Oaks Fire Department, worked for the California Department of Forestry and Fire for 12 years and a 9-1-1 ambulance company for four years. So, my training and work experience during that time paid off,” he said.
Toney suggested landing the helicopter that ultimately transported the boy, in the Caltrans yard rather than on the highway, which presented a potential for major traffic congestion.
He said it was first time he could remember the Caltrans yard being used as a landing zone.
“Mr. Toney”s quick actions aided in providing prompt medical evacuation of the injured teenager and prevented the closing of Highway 20 during peak vehicular traffic hours,” Toney”s supervisor Brennan Ladao stated in the nomination submitted to the state.
Toney said he is honored by the award. “It was a great honor to be recognized not only by the governor but also by Congressman Mike Thompson, who sent me a letter thanking me for what I did,” he said.
“I am writing to express my congratulations to you for receiving the Governor”s Safety Award. The actions you took literally saved the life of a 13-year-old boy and you should be highly commended for this,” Congressman Thompson wrote. “Again, Frank, congratulations on a job well done.”
Toney is a 40-year resident of Clearlake Oaks. He lives with his girlfriend Janet and their sons Parker and Dylan. He is a 1983 graduate of Lower Lake High School and says, “Go Trojans!” As a Caltrans employee he asks that motorists remember: “Slow for the cone zone. Give highway workers a brake.”
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
