Mission Viejo : County Medal Given to Two Who Saved Lives

The Medal of Valor, the county’s highest award, was given Tuesday to a Mission Viejo man who beat back a mountain lion attacking a 5-year-old girl and to a Marine captain who pulled a crash victim from a burning vehicle.

Gregory Ysais Jr., 36, was hiking in Caspers Wilderness Park last March 23 when he heard the screams of Laura Michele Small, 5, of El Toro. A cougar was attacking the child, who had been walking in the park east of San Juan Capistrano with her mother.

Ysias snapped a branch from a tree and struck the animal repeatedly until it fled.

In October, Ysais received a medal and $2,500 in cash from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission in Pittsburgh.

The second medal was given by the Board of Supervisors to Capt. Richard Christie of San Clemente, a Camp Pendleton Marine.

Last Jan. 19, Christie was at the Avenida Pico off-ramp of the San Diego Freeway in San Clemente when he saw a van hit a guardrail on the freeway, plunge over the edge of a bridge and burst into flames.

The driver escaped, but a 24-year-old passenger was trapped semi-conscious inside. Christie suffered burns on his hands as he pulled the victim from the van. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Six other people have received the Medal of Valor, which was established by the supervisors in 1980 to honor individuals who risk their lives to save others. The county sheriff, fire chief and the five supervisors choose the recipients.