Caltrans employee honored for bravery

A Maxwell native was hailed a hero last week for saving the life of another.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger presented Robert Immoos with the prestigious Medal of Valor during a special ceremony in Sacramento.

The award honors state employees who have demonstrated extraordinary acts of bravery.

The Medal of Valor is the highest honor that California awards to its public servants, a spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation said.

Immoos, a heavy equipment operator for Caltrans, was working in the Castle Peak area in April when he guided a wrong-way driver to safety on Interstate 80 near Donner Summit.

Immoos reportedly was monitoring his CB radio when he heard some truckers talking about a vehicle driving westbound in the eastbound lanes. A Caltrans spokesman said Immoos spotted the wrong-way driver, made a U-turn and approached the vehicle as eastbound traffic was swerving to avoid it. 

After failing to get the errant driver’s attention, Immoos turned into oncoming traffic with his warning lights on and then guided the driver safety. Immoos, without thought for his personal safety, prevented a possible serious head-on traffic collision, possible loss of life and multicar collisions, Caltrans said in a prepared statement.

Immoos, who works graveyard shift out of the Soda Springs office, was unavailable for comment.