AAA Honors Safety Patrollers Who Save Lives, Keep Our Kids Safe
WASHINGTON--May 3, 2003--On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 108 minutes - and children are among the most vulnerable, according to recent government statistics.Occasionally, however, someone makes a heroic, split second decision to take a child out of harm's way. AAA's 2003 Life Savers Award recipients stepped forward in just such a situation to save the life of a fellow student. The Life Savers are all members of the AAA School Safety Patrol, and were honored at the patroller's 67th Annual parade in Washington D.C. today.
The young heroes are Michael Butters of Burke, Va.; Cody Byers of Lancaster, Ohio; and Sadie Peters of Deshler, Ohio.
"These young safety patrollers demonstrated remarkable courage and concern for others," said Charles Butler, director of AAA Traffic Safety Services. "We also want to make sure the thousands of other dedicated school safety patrollers across the country receive public recognition because their job is essential for keeping our kids and our streets safe. They are heroes in every sense of the word."
The three patrollers served as Grand Marshals for the AAA sponsored annual parade that traveled down Constitution Avenue with over 3,000 participants. As evidenced from their actions, their awards were well deserved.
| -- | Michael Butters, 12, of Holy Spirit School in Annandale, Va., was at his post monitoring a traffic circle where children are dropped off. A little girl playing a game of chase with her friends broke away from the group, heading right for the drop-off area; without hesitating, Michael ran towards the little girl and grabbed her backpack just before she would have been hit by a car. |
| -- | Cody Byers, 12, of Fairfield Christian Academy in Lancaster, Ohio, saved the life of a local first-grader. As children began to cross the street, Cody's safety patrol advisor saw the student "fly out" of the school and head into traffic as she darted past him, Cody took off after her, catching the youngster by the coat collar just before she ran into the second lane of traffic. |
| -- | Sadie Peters, 12, of Deshler Elementary School in Deshler, Ohio, was on patrol assisting fellow students with crossing the intersection. During her check of the area, Sadie saw a semi-truck approaching the intersection just as a fellow patroller warned her that a three-year-old girl had wandered out into the intersection. Sadie immediately threw down her patrol flag and sprinted toward the toddler, pulling her from the path of the oncoming semi-truck. |
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 46 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related 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. This year the AAA Traffic Safety department celebrates its 75th anniversary.
