Two O.C. Men Honored for Valor by State

Two Orange County men whose quick actions saved lives were honored Thursday when Gov. Pete Wilson presented them with a California Medal of Valor, the highest honor that can be awarded the state’s public servants.

California Highway Patrol Officer Al Burciaga and Caltrans maintenance worker Scott Hanson traveled to Sacramento for the ceremony honoring 29 state employees who risked their safety to help others.

Burciaga, a San Juan Capistrano resident, was on patrol on Dec. 10, 1992, in Santa Barbara when he saw a woman standing on an overpass above a busy highway.

As other officers arrived, Burciaga, convinced that she would indeed jump, leaped toward her. The struggling woman threw herself over the edge, but Burciaga grabbed a handful of her hair as he slammed into the railing. With the struggling woman’s feet dangling, the other officers helped pull her to safety.

Hanson, of Mission Viejo, was driving his California Department of Transportation truck on the Costa Mesa Freeway on the morning of June 21, 1993, when he saw a car glancing off the concrete median barrier. The driver was slumped behind the wheel after blacking out from insulin shock.

Hanson swerved in front of the car and gradually slowed down, letting the vehicles hit until, about four miles later, both the truck and car came to a safe stop. Neither suffered injury and authorities said Hanson probably prevented a major accident.