It is often said, heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary. That is what three Ironwood State Prison employees did earlier this year when they helped rescue a baby from a crash.
The early morning crash involved an F-250 pickup truck with two children and two adults. They were also hauling a trailer containing two off-road vehicles.
Lt. Heriberto Mora and his wife, RN Mayra Mora, were well into their commute to work at Ironwood State Prison (ISP) when they saw a large plume of dirt in the lanes opposite them.
Ironwood staff on crash rescue: ‘We knew it was serious’
Ironwood prison employees helped rescue a baby from a crash earlier this year. 
After being assisted by Ironwood State Prison employees, first-responders arrived to help the victims.
As trained emergency first responders, they quickly pulled over and began providing aid to those in the mangled truck.
“I couldn’t see much of what happened, but when we got to the truck, we knew it was serious,” said Lt. Mora.
The driver had a laceration to his head and was bleeding profusely. A female child, about 2 or 3 years old, was outside of the truck. Lt. Mora said he did not know if the little girl had been ejected from the vehicle or taken out soon after. A woman was ejected into the brush near the truck.
“The driver was bleeding pretty seriously,” Lt. Mora said, “My wife took my sweater and treated his wound.”
RN Mora calmed the child outside the vehicle, who did not appear to be injured.
Another employee arrives to help
Sgt. John Bradley, another CDCR employee, also offered assistance.
While assessing the inside of the vehicle, Lt. Mora saw a baby still in its car seat. He jumped onto the bed of the truck while Sgt. Bradley assisted through the broken windows. After some effort, the Ironwood employees were able to rescue the infant from the crash.
Meanwhile, RN Mora treated the woman in the brush, keeping her stationary in case she had neck or spinal injuries.
“We kept them calm and conscious until CAL FIRE arrived,” Lt. Mora said, “And after that, we went to work. We were glad that we were there and able to provide them with some help.”
Other prison staff stopped and assisted, providing bottled water and blankets to the injured victims of the rollover accident.
“I don’t know who they all were but we appreciated the help and assistance that day,” Lt. Mora said.
The children were airlifted to an area hospital suffering moderate injuries. The two adults were taken by ground ambulance to an area hospital for treatment of moderate injuries.
“We are proud to have Correctional Lieutenant Heriberto Mora, Correctional Sergeant John Bradley, and Registered Nurse Mayra Mora, as part of the ISP family,” said ISP Warden McDowell.
Story by Lt. JJ Hernandez, Chuckawalla Valley State Prison.
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