A Marin County Sheriff's deputy who dove into a rising, flooded creek to pull a trapped driver out through a shattered back window has now received a Medal of Valor for the rescue. Deputy Michael Dawson was awarded the Medal of Valor by a statewide sheriff's group for saving a woman whose SUV had skidded into Lagunitas Creek during a ferocious storm near Point Reyes Station.
The rescue happened just after 5 a.m. on February 4, 2025, during a heavy atmospheric river storm, when a driver on Platform Bridge Road near Point Reyes Station hit a large puddle, lost control, and crashed into the flooded creek, according to the Point Reyes Light. The vehicle's windows were inoperable, leaving the driver with no way to free herself.
Dawson arrived within minutes of the 911 call. The outlet reports he jumped into the swollen creek, used a tool from his duty belt to shatter the SUV's rear tailgate window, cleared obstructions blocking the opening, and pulled the trapped driver to safety moments before the vehicle disappeared beneath the water entirely.
Body-Camera Video Made the Rescue a National Story
Marin County Sheriff's Office released body-camera footage on February 6, 2025, showing Dawson leaping into the floodwaters and pulling the woman out through the back windshield, according to CBS News.
A Storm That Overwhelmed West Marin
Dawson's rescue did not happen in isolation. The same atmospheric river storm dropped nearly five inches of rain on Point Reyes Station within 24 hours, and the Point Reyes Light reported that the Marin County Fire Department received seven water-rescue calls that day. During rainfall events that heavy, Marin County fire and police agencies deploy a pre-positioned swift-water rescue unit overseen by the county's Office of Emergency Management, the paper noted, underscoring just how stretched local responders were that morning.
The road where the crash happened has remained a point of focus for county officials. Marin County reported road work and retaining-wall repairs along Platform Bridge Road, according to Marin County.
Recognition Built Over Nearly Two Years
KTVU reported that Dawson received the Medal of Valor from a statewide sheriff's group, identified by the award-granting organization as the California State Sheriffs' Association, for saving the woman trapped in her SUV.
California law provides for a state review board for the specifically named Public Safety Medal of Valor, according to the California Government Code as cited by FindLaw. Dawson received the California State Sheriffs' Association's Medal of Valor nearly two years after he waded into a swollen creek in the dark, with a flooding SUV and a trapped driver running out of time.
