AAA Honors Safety Patrol Students Who are Real Lifesavers
WASHINGTON--May 7, 2002--Most of the time, students who participate in AAA's school safety patrol perform their duties uneventfully, but occasionally a situation occurs that requires a split second decision by a patroller that takes a fellow student out of harm's way.AAA's 2002 Life Saving Award Recipients are all members of the AAA School Safety Patrol at their elementary schools - and all of them stepped forward in just such a situation to save the life of another person.
The young heroes are Kathryn DelZoppo of Alexandria, Minn.; Ernesto Navarrete of Manassas, Va.; Greg Whitaker of Fairfax, Va.; Justin Wright and Ethan Thrush of Lancaster, Ohio; and Matthew T. Printz of Westfield, N.J.
"These young safety patrollers demonstrated remarkable courage and concern for others," said Charles Butler, director of AAA Traffic Safety Services. "Thousands of dedicated school safety patrollers go without public recognition, but the selfless actions of these six students deserve special consideration. They are heroes in every sense of the word."
The six patrollers were honored at a special ceremony today on Capitol Hill as winners of the 2002 AAA School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Award. As evidenced by their actions, their awards were well deserved.
| -- | Kathryn DelZoppo, 12, of St. Mary's in Alexandria, Minn., was at her post with four other patrollers when a young child ran around the patrol on the left side and in front of an oncoming vehicle. Thinking fast, Kathryn took hold of the child's jacket and pulled him back to the curb and out of the path of the swiftly approaching vehicle. |
| -- | Justin A. Wright, 13, and Ethan L. Thrush, 12, of Sanderson Elementary in Lancaster, Ohio, jointly saved the life of a local third grader. As the child began to cross the street they had carefully checked, a vehicle approached the crosswalk, speeding and fishtailing. Ethan spotted the car and yelled out a warning to Justin, who immediately dashed into the road and pulled the third grader to safety. |
| -- | Ernesto Navarrete, 11, of Weems Elementary School in Manassas, Va., was on duty at the bus circle with six other patrols and a teacher when the driver of a pick-up truck parked in the grass near the bus circle began to back up without warning. During his scan of the area, Ernesto saw the truck backing up toward a fellow patroller, who had her back to the moving truck. He yelled a warning to the patroller, who was barely able to jump out of harm's way. |
| -- | Greg Whitaker, 11, of Fairhill Elementary School in Fairfax, Va., helped protect himself and a first grade student from a wanted felon. While walking home after fulfilling his school bus patrol duties, Greg saw a man pull up in his van and block the boy's path. The man got out of his van and started to ask the little boy several questions, including where he lived. Greg immediately took the first-grader's hand and walked the boy directly home. Before the van pulled away, Greg committed the license plate number, the van, and the driver to memory, and later called his patrol sponsor for further guidance. The patrol sponsor called the local police, who informed the sponsor that there was a warrant out for the man's arrest. |
| -- | Matthew T. Printz, 11, of Franklin Elementary School, Westfield, N.J., was at his usual post outside the school with fellow patrols and a school crossing guard. Although he was not letting anyone cross, a student stepped around Matthew and into the street. Matthew immediately grabbed the student's backpack strap and pulled him out of the street just in time to avoid an oncoming car. |
In addition to honoring the 2002 Lifesaver Award winners, AAA recognized Kaitlin McLoughlin of Troy, MI as national Safety Patroller of the Year. Kaitlin was given the award for her extraordinary dedication to the safety patrol program. It was the first time ever that award has been given on a national level.
AAA started the national school safety patrol in 1920. Today, the AAA School Safety Patrol is an organization of 500,000 boys and girls nationwide in 50,000 schools. Many famous Americans have been safety patrollers, including former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Senator John Warner of Virginia, three current members of the U.S. Supreme Court, 21 astronauts and six Olympic gold medallists.
The program has a long history of helping young people become leaders by teaching discipline, responsibility, and concern for others.
As the nation's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides its 45 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-elated services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for safety and security of all travelers.
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