DES MOINES – State officials will honor emergency personnel from Waukee, Iowa, for their attempt to save a woman’s life this past summer who had crashed her car into a pond.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) will host the annual Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor Ceremony on Monday, December 17, 2018. The event will take place at the State Capitol Rotunda at 10:30 AM.
Governor Kim Reynolds and DPS Commissioner Roxann Ryan will honor four individuals with the 2018 Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor for their heroic effort in the attempt to save a life earlier this year in Waukee.
On June 26th, 2018, around 1:50 p.m., Westcom Communications received several 911 calls indicating that a vehicle traveling eastbound on Hickman Road had left the roadway and came to rest in a small pond. Callers indicated that they believed there was a single occupant in the vehicle and the car was submerged in the pond with the driver still in the vehicle. Shessla Whitlow, 38, was traveling eastbound on Hickman Road when her vehicle veered off the road and into a nearby detention pond. Witnesses, the Waukee Fire Chief and a Waukee Police Sergeant worked together to pull her from the submerged vehicle. CPR was performed at the scene, and Whitlow was transported to a hospital.
These four men will be honored with the 2018 Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor for their heroic actions performed during this rescue effort:
Fire Chief – Clint Robinson – Waukee Fire Department
Firefighter/Paramedic – Josh Hutton – Waukee Fire Department
Fire Inspector – Justin Frederick – Waukee Fire Department
Sergeant – Hector Arias – Waukee Police Department
Back in 2010, police and emergency responders in Mason City were honored by Governor Terry Branstad with the 2011 Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor for attempting to save three young men who drove a car into the Winnebago River. On October 27th, 2010, Police Officers Charlie Connor, Tiffany Creekmur, Lane Seifken and Ed Walthall and Firefighters Lieutenant David Orr, Aaron Beemer and Peter Beiber were involved in a rescue attempt. A car had gone off Birch Drive, flipped over as it went down the embankment, and landed on its roof in the Winnebago River. The caller reported that there were people trapped inside the vehicle, which was partially submerged in the river.
