By JESSICA HOCH

Staff Writer

It took Police Officer Dale Johnson moments to go from filing a routine report to saving the life of a 19-year-old Lynnwood woman whose Mazda careened into a power pole, and left her trapped by live wires and a vehicle about to burst into flames.

It was a situation – occurring at 12:43 a.m. on Aug. 12 – that could have gone drastically wrong had it not been for the timing and heroic actions of Johnson last month. Johnson will be presented with the city’s life-saving award at a Bainbridge Island City Council meeting next Wednesday.

In a perfect storm of events, the woman was attempting to make the ferry that was about to dock at the terminal. She lost control of her vehicle and crashed into the pole on the west side of Olympic Drive, shaking the police station nearby and alerting Johnson to the situation.

Immediately, Johnson realized the magnitude of the situation. Not only could he see a flame building underneath the engine of her vehicle, but the ferry was about to unload, and live wires were spewed across the highway in the pitch dark of the early morning sky.

While Johnson made verbal contact with the woman his partner secured the area from cars. Using his flashlight and a spotlight from an emergency vehicle Johnson was able to determine the location of the wires and direct the woman to crawl away from her vehicle to the sidewalk. From there he weaved his way through the power lines to reach her and move to safety. Just a few seconds later the car was engulfed in flames.

“It was a pretty surreal scene,” said Johnson. “That pole has been struck a few times before with people running into it trying to catch the ferry but that was the worst collision I’ve seen.”

Johnson acknowledged how fortunate it was that the incident across the street the front door of the station. Had it happened anywhere else the delay of getting a call into 911 and officers to the scene could have led to a much different result.

Police Chief Jon Fehlman said the life-saving award isn’t given out often and Johnson’s actions fully merit the recognition.

“Had he not acted, a life would have been lost, no doubt about it,” said Fehlman. “[Johnson] did something that saved her life and he put himself in great risk to do that.”

The award will be given to Johnson after Bainbridge Police Commander Sue Shultz is sworn in during a special ceremony at the regular meeting of the City Council next Wednesday, Sept. 22. The swearing in is scheduled to occur at 7:05 p.m.