A student safety patrol at a Chevy Chase elementary school has been honored for saving a fellow student at a crosswalk from serious injury or perhaps worse.
On the morning of Nov. 21, the day before Thanksgiving, Alanna Miller was stationed at her safety patrol post at the corner of East-West Highway and Grubb Road, just up the street from Rock Creek Forest Elementary School. A Montgomery County Police crossing guard, on the opposite corner, began to enter the street to allow for children to cross.
But a large truck came into the intersection, against the red light and in the direction of the crosswalk. With the pedestrian walk signal on, a third-grade student began to cross. But police say Miller saw the truck and grabbed the arm of the young boy, pulling him to the curb just as the truck drove through the crosswalk.
According to the crossing guard, the boy would have been struck by the truck if not for Miller.
For her potentially life-saving move, AAA has awarded the fifth-grader with its School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Award, the highest award given to safety patrols. Each year, the National Review Board selects safety patrols who have saved the life of a person while on duty. Miller was one of eight patrols the country to be given the designation.
Daceris Mendez, a student and safety patrol at Rock View Elementary School in Kensington, also was honored with the award.
Both threw out ceremonial first pitches at the April 6 Baltimore Orioles game.
Students are asked to write a paragraph about why they would like to be a safety patrol.
Miller wrote “Sometimes people can get hurt and while I’m on Safety Patrol, I won’t let that happen.”
Photo via MCP
