CHP OFFICER GETS MEDAL OF VALOR A BRAVE EFFORT TO SAVE MAN IN AQUEDUCT EARNS TOP HONOR.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A California Highway Patrol officer was honored Friday for two acts of heroism: jumping into the California Aqueduct to try to save a crash victim and aiding an injured man on the Antelope Valley Freeway as cars swerved around them.

Officer Jason Peavy, a 27-year-old ex-Marine who joined the CHP three years ago, was presented with the state's highest honor for public safety officers, the Medal Of Valor, for his actions in the aqueduct crash and the Superior Effort certificate for heroism in the freeway incident.

``This is a young man who's faced some real challenges not once but twice in his three years that most of us never see even once in our career,'' said CHP Commissioner Mike Brown. ``There's a lot of folks that might not have made the same choices. We're proud of him.''

In a ceremony at the Antelope Valley CHP station, Peavy choked up while thanking his mother - who came in a wheelchair - for her support while he was in the Marine Corps and as a CHP officer.

Also there, and also in a wheelchair, was Dave Pizinger, to whose aid Peavy came in the Antelope Valley Freeway crash, and Pizinger's wife and child.

``The awards and medal is great, but the biggest thing to me is to see Dave here today. That means so much more,'' Peavy said.

The Medal of Valor was for twice diving into the cold, fast-moving waters of the California Aqueduct Jan. 10 beside Highway 138, officials said.

A car driven by Jesse James Rodriguez, 20, of El Centro, had crashed into the aqueduct after losing control while trying to catch up with another motorist with whom Rodriguez had exchanged words, officials said.

The car crashed through a chain-link fence, hit a utility pole and then plunged into the aqueduct.

When Peavy and other officers arrived, he tied a rope around his waist and dove in to try to reach the submerged car. When the current pulled him away from the car, the other officers pulled him back by the rope. He dove in again, but could not reach Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was dead when divers finally pulled him from the car.

Then on July 21, Peavy was sent to a major injury crash on the Antelope Valley Freeway north of Acton. Pizinger, a sanitation company worker, had been hit by a vehicle after he stopped to retrieve a portable toilet that had fallen off another worker's truck on its way to a camp for firefighters battling an Acton brush fire.

When Peavy arrived, onlookers told him that Pizinger was already dead. When Peavy checked Pizinger, lying in a traffic lane, he found him alive but badly injured. Pizinger's legs had been severed.

``That's the first thing that I've ever seen that's that traumatic ... that scary,'' Peavy said.

Peavy gave Pizinger oxygen from a bottle in his cruiser, talked to him and held his hand while awaiting paramedics.

``We talked about his family and whatever else just to keep the conversation going,'' Peavy said. ``I just saw that he needed help and he was being so strong that I had no choice but to be strong with him.''

Vehicles swerved around the men.

Pizinger, 34, spent more than six weeks in the hospital recovering from the crash, which not only severed his legs, but also broke both arms, three ribs and his pelvis.

Now, even though he is confined to a wheelchair, he said he has a new outlook on life.

``Just to be able to say that I'm still here is an honor,'' Pizinger said Friday. ``You can knock me down but I'll get back up.''

Pizinger attended the awards ceremony with his wife, 13-month-old son and other family members. Since the crash, Pizinger has been named an honorary CHP officer, which he considers a great honor.

``Just to be able to be accepted in this elite group is an honor,'' Pizinger said.

Peavy joined the CHP three years ago after leaving the Marine Corps, where he served four years in the infantry.

Greg Botonis, [phone]

gregory.botonis(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color in SAC and AV editions) CHP Commissioner Mike Brown, left, gives the Medal of Valor to Officer Jason Peavy as Antelope Valley station Capt. Doug Rich watches. The medal is the highest award the CHP can bestow on an officer. Peavy also received a certificate for bravery in another incident.

(2 -- color in AV edition -- ran in SAC and AV editions only) CHP Officer Jason Peavy poses with the Pizinger family - Dave, Paula and little Nathanial. Peavy helped keep Dave Pizinger alive.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer