After coming to the aid of high school students involved in a fiery car crash the day before Halloween, eight Lansing Elementary District 158 employees were honored Tuesday at a Village Board meeting.
“It really is a nice collaborative effort of the village to celebrate, you know, people in the community willing to step up and support and care for each other in circumstances when they really don’t have to,” District 158 Superintendent Nathan Schilling said before the educators were honored.
Schilling said a black SUV with three Thornton Fractional South High School students was being driven on Greenbay Avenue Oct. 30 when it crashed head-on into a tree near Lester Crawl Primary Center.
The SUV caught fire, and while the 16-year-old driver and front passenger were able to exit, the student in the back seat was left trapped, Schilling said.
By luck, Schilling said, the crash occurred while the eight Lester Crawl staff members were outside facilitating bus pick up and drop off for students in half-day programs. Paraprofessional Ashley Ellis was able to pull the student out of the back seat while other staff helped the teenagers over a barricade to a grassy area near the school.
Multiple staff members, including Lester Crawl Principal Crystal Briney, kept the students comfortable while contacting their parents, school and first responders. The students in the front of the vehicle only had minor injuries, while the student in the back seat had a broken leg, Schilling said.
Lansing police Chief Alfred Phillips confirmed the driver was issued several citations as a result of the crash.
Briney and Ellis along with parent educator Angelique Carrillo, library resource center Director Jean Draves, and paraprofessionals Laci Boshears, Kristen Russell, Chantal Romero and Diana Romero were all honored for their “extraordinary action and heroism” in response to the crash.
Schilling said many of the students who attend Lester Crawl receive special education services and have “some pretty substantial needs” that the recognized staff members work to address every day.
“All we really saw was that same spirit of selflessness and support, just in a different context,” Schilling said. “They certainly didn’t ask for recognition as a result of this, but we thought it was very important to provide that for them.”
Schilling also noted that in spirit of Halloween, the staff members came to the aid of the teenagers while dressed up as characters from the Super Mario Brothers franchise.
“What everybody saw that day, and this only adds to how our students and our families and the community see them, was an emergency being responded to and people being cared for by super heroes,” he said.
Lansing Mayor Brian Hardy lauded the eight district staff as “remarkable individuals” before handing them each Civilian Service Awards, presented for personal assistance by a civilian in apprehending a criminal or taking action to aid people in danger.
“Thank you again for being out there, being there at the right time, but also for stepping up and saving someone in need who needed help and support,” Hardy said.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com