LAKEPORT, Calif. – Four men and a woman who came to the rescue of a Lucerne resident whose pickup went into Clear Lake last month were honored by the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Northshore Fire EMT Laura Carr, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Chwialkowski, Deputy Nick La Velle, Frank Haas of Lower Lake and Lucerne resident Doug Arnold received commendations from the board and standing ovations from the gallery at the Tuesday morning meeting.

The group previously came together in unexpected but heroic fashion on the afternoon of Thursday, March 21.

On that day, Ann Adams, 71, was driving westbound on Highway 20 toward Nice and was just west of Lucerne when she lost control of her pickup, which shot off the roadway and went out into Clear Lake, as Lake County News has reported.

Arnold, who had been driving behind Adams, pulled over and swam out in an effort to rescue her from the sinking pickup, but with the windows up he couldn’t get her out, he had told Lake County News at the scene.

He swam back to shore to get help, and that’s when Haas passed by, pulling over and coming back to call 911 and offer help.

La Velle and Chwialkowski, who were in the area, responded to the dispatch of the call, and when they arrived quickly shed their uniforms to swim out to the pickup, with Chwialkowski using a sledgehammer from Haas’ work truck to bust out the pickup’s window.

Carr also swam out, and the group safely brought Adams to shore. She later was flown out to a trauma center.

“Fortunately, events like this don’t happen every day,” however, when they do, it’s nice to know there are people in Lake County like the five rescuers who are willing to take action, said Supervisor Rob Brown, who presented the commendations.

He told La Velle, one of the newest deputies, “You did the right thing. I wouldn’t expect anything less of you.”

As for Chwialkowski, Brown said the March rescue wasn’t the only time the sheriff’s office veteran had saved a life, noting he’s saved many citizens – and even some fellow deputies – in his time.

“He said he’d like to think anyone would have done this,” Brown recalled of a recent conversation with Chwialkowski.

Board Chair Jeff Smith told the group, “Thank you very  much for what you all did.”

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.