[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 30, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3586-S3587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      AAA SCHOOL SAFETY PATROLLERS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of three young 
Americans recently chosen by the American Automobile Association to 
receive the School Safety Patrol Lifesaving award.
  In 1920, the American Automobile Association, AAA, began the School 
Safety Patrol Program in order to ensure that children across the 
country could commute to school in a safe manner. Today over 500,000 
young people participate in this program, and every year since 1949, 
the AAA has recognized those patrollers who go above and beyond their 
duties.
  For nearly 50 years, the AAA has given its highest School Safety 
Patrol honor, the Lifesaving Award, to those patrollers who have risked 
their own lives to save the life of another. Today I have the great 
honor of recognizing three courageous patrollers who, while on duty, 
showed the kind of clear-thinking, quick-acting skills that save lives.
  Nicole Epstein participates in the School Safety Patrol Program at 
North Chevy Chase Elementary in Chevy Chase, MD, not far from where we 
stand today. In June of 2007, an 8-year-old boy watched the traffic 
light turn to green and began to cross a busy road, unaware that a car 
making a right-hand turn was heading directly toward him. Nicole, 
seeing the oncoming car, stepped off the curb and grabbed the boy's 
backpack to pull him to safety. The driver of the car must not have 
seen the boy, because the vehicle completed the turn and drove on

[[Page S3587]]

with out slowing down or acknowledging the children. Through her 
bravery and quick thinking, Nicole saved this young boy from being hit 
by that car.
  Raul Valdez, a AAA school safety patroller at West Gate Elementary in 
Manassas, VA, showed great courage when he saved a young girl who ran 
out in front of an oncoming van on April 13, 2007. Following an adult 
guard's ``hold back'' instruction, Raul put his arms up to prevent 
students from crossing the busy area of the school drive where buses 
and daycare vans collect children. When a young girl attempted to run 
across the drive, Raul reached for her shoulder and swiftly pulled her 
out of the way of an approaching daycare van. Thanks to Raul's 
attentiveness and his speedy reaction time, that young girl was saved 
from harm.
  Clarissa Sourada is a safety patroller at Union Mill Elementary in 
Clifton, VA. On a morning in February 2007, Clarissa was holding two 
children at the edge of a residential driveway near her post, waiting 
for the clear to cross, when she noticed a vehicle backing towards 
them. She alerted the children to the danger and called for them to 
move out of the way. When one child did not heed her warning, Clarissa 
pushed the child from the driveway to the sidewalk, safely out of the 
path of the car. That child's life was saved thanks to Clarissa's quick 
thinking and attentive supervision.
  As these three exceptional young people have demonstrated, the 
participants in the AAA School Safety Patrol Program serve an important 
role in ensuring that our young people get to school safely. This 
program has helped save countless lives, and I thank the AAA and the 
program volunteers for making it all possible. I know I speak for every 
Member of the Senate in expressing our gratitude for their valuable 
work in our communities.

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