What did this 5th grade student do when a pickup truck drove toward an occupied school crosswalk? – Desert News

It happened in a matter of seconds, and Hector Lara’s reaction was probably more instinct than practiced protocol.

Earlier this school year, a red Toyota pickup drove toward a crosswalk outside South Kearns Elementary School, where a third-grader was crossing the street.

Lara, a fifth-grader on the school’s safety patrol, sprang into action.

“So I grabbed the girl’s backpack and pulled her back, and then I shouted ‘Stop!’, because the girl was resisting a little bit, you could say,” Lara said in an interview this week.

“She said, ‘Why am I being withdrawn?’ She probably thought, ‘I’m getting kidnapped or something,'” he said.

Once the girl was safely on the sidewalk, Lara checked that everything was okay, offered her water, and then escorted her across the street once traffic had stopped.

What Lara didn’t know was that the girl’s grandmother, who picked her up from school that day, witnessed him take the action that saved her granddaughter from serious injury or possible loss of life.

“So her granddaughter was hit almost right in front of her eyes. She said, ‘Thank God you’re here. And then she said, ‘That’s why we need more of you’ or something like that,” he said.

Lara, 10, has been following the events closely. He didn’t tell anyone at school. Principal Kim Babka and paraprofessional Erica Timothy, who oversees the school’s safety patrol/leadership program, didn’t find out until the next school day when the girl’s grandmother stopped by the school office to tell them what happened.

“And before you know it, I have this prize,” Lara said.

Timothy nominated Lara for the AAA School Safety Patrol Life saving Medal, the highest award given to a patrolman by the association’s California affiliate. Recipients are honored for saving the life of a person in immediate danger.

Lara received the award during the South Kearns Elementary School fifth grade promotion assembly at the end of the school year.

Every member of the school’s security patrol was recognized, but Babka asked Lara to remain by her side while the other students returned to their seats.

“I told all the parents there how proud I was of him, because we all take care of each other in our community. “We are grateful for all our safety patrol kids who get out there in all weather conditions, but one day he just went above and beyond and saved a little girl’s life,” Babka said.

Lara said the recognition was nice, but “I didn’t even care if I got the award. I’m like, ‘I saved someone’s life. That’s what matters,” he said.

Lara said he was interested in becoming part of the school’s safety patrol to help and care for other people. It was also an opportunity to learn leadership skills and spend time with friends on patrol while performing important services to increase safety and a sense of belonging at the Granite District school.

“Some people really need that help and when they are looking down, I try to cheer people up. I say ‘hello’ to every child. I say, “How’s your day going?” to make sure it goes well. When they feel down, I make them feel happy,” he said.

Lara is bilingual, so he can also help students whose native language is Spanish.

When Lara was presented with the award, which has been given to fewer than 500 lifesaving student safety officers since 1949, he quickly put it in his backpack.

“I didn’t want to take it out or anything. Why show? That, for example, is not correct,” he said.

Lara said the possibility of winning an award wasn’t the reason he wanted to serve on his school’s safety patrol and it certainly didn’t cross his mind the day he saved a classmate from danger. It was just about doing the right thing.

“If you see someone who needs help, just help them,” he said.