California Honors Mendocino County Caltrans Worker for Act of Heroism

Pictured from left to right: Caltrans Deputy Director Cory Binns, Anthony Coscia, Tobin Hook, Steven Quinliven and California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin.

Press release from Caltrans:

 

California [yesterday] recognized…Caltrans employees with the Governor’s State Employee Medal of Valor, the highest honor bestowed to public servants who perform extraordinary acts of heroism above and beyond the normal call of duty and at great risk to their own lives.

“The heroism recognized today from these Caltrans employees reflects the extraordinary courage, selflessness and commitment to keep Californians safe,” said California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin. “We are grateful for these employees and proud to join Governor Newsom in honoring their actions.”

“These workers bravely risked their personal safety to provide life-saving service to their communities and the people of California,” Caltrans Director Dina El-Tawansy said. “Today, the entire Caltrans family joins Governor Newsom in honoring their selfless acts and thank them for their willingness to help others.”

Receiving the Gold Medal of Valor:

• Tobin Hook, District 5 Landscape Associate, and Anthony Coscia, District 5 Transportation Engineer, for courageously entering the Pacific Ocean on August 29, 2024, near the town of Davenport in Santa Cruz County and helping a drowning woman to shore, starting CPR and other life-saving measures until emergency personnel arrived.

Receiving the Silver Medal of Valor:

• Steve Quinliven, District 1 Equipment Operator, for heroic service rendered on May 12, 2025, by providing first aid and attending to a distressed female motorist, whose car was dangling precariously on an embankment beneath State Route 162 in Mendocino County, until emergency personnel arrived.

The annual State Employee Medal of Valor award was first presented by Governor Edmund G. Brown Sr. in 1959.

In the 67 years these medals have been awarded, more than 800 state employees – including 133 from Caltrans – have earned medals of valor for their courage and selflessness in the face of danger.