Hometown Heroines: Students Save Kindergartener's Life

SILVER SPRING, MD — Two elementary school students from Silver Spring received the AAA School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Medal on Tuesday for stopping a kindergartener from running into traffic.

Shelby Taft and Sadie Haynes, of Oakland Terrance Elementary School, are two of five national winners to receive the Lifesaving Medal from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

"Each year AAA honors the exceptional actions of children who serve in their schools as school safety patrollers," the foundation said. "This year, a duo of young AAA School Safety Patrollers from Silver Spring, Maryland, Shelby Taft and Sadie Haynes, acted quickly when a kindergarten student broke free from the safety of his mother's hands and ran towards the road."

Their heroic, life-saving efforts were recognized at Oakland Terrace Elementary School on Tuesday morning.

AAA's national program was established in 1949 to recognize members of the School Safety Patrol who saved a student's life. According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, more than 70 Lifesavers have been recognized in the region.

"The tremendous stories of courage and sacrifice demonstrated by this year's winners give us all something to celebrate," said Leah Scully, Traffic Safety Community Educator, Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety & Education.