Acts of Heroism Reduce Terms for 4 Convicts

Four inmates at a Saugus minimum-security facility had their prison sentences reduced Friday because of their part in the rescue of 11 persons involved in a flaming traffic accident, according to the state Department of Corrections.

One person died and 11 others were injured in the Nov. 14 head-on collision between a sports car and a van. Ten people inside the van and the driver of the car were pulled from the wreckage by the four inmates, who had run to the scene from the nearby San Francisquito Conservation Camp, authorities said.

A review board earlier this month approved the sentence reductions because “the department wants to reward inmates who, under extraordinary circumstances, place their lives in jeopardy” to help others, Department of Corrections spokesman Mike Yarborough said.

Edward Quintanilla, 32, of Santa Barbara, received six months off his nine-year burglary term, and 90-day reductions were granted to Joey Hopkins, 29, of Buena Park, serving five years for robbery; Ricky Leonard, 25, of Riverside County, serving four years for burglary, and Roger Chavez, 22, of Los Angeles County, serving three years for robbery, Yarborough said.

Quintanilla received the largest reduction because it was he who pulled the sports car driver, Robert Dixon, through the sunroof of the flaming car after unfastening Dixon’s seat belt, officials said.

Dixon, 26, of Claremont, has been hospitalized with burns since the crash. He is charged with vehicular manslaughter stemming from his wife’s death in the accident, said Elliott L. Fisher, a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney.

Quintanilla and Hopkins said they were surprised by the news Friday and had not expected the review board to go along with the early releases recommended by the camp administrator, Lt. Earl Farar.

“I was glad that I got anything at all,” Hopkins said.

“My main concern is to start working,” Quintanilla said. “Before, I was ready to tell everyone I was in prison. But now when I go to a job I can say I was released early because of this, and I have all the articles and everything.”