OAKLAND — An elementary school student has been hailed for saving the life of a toddler who dashed into an intersection.
Andres Palencia, a fourth grader on Manzanita Community School's safety patrol, acted quickly when he recently saw a little girl run into the street into the path of an oncoming truck.
The piercing high-pitched sound from his whistle caught the attention of the driver, who came to a stop in the middle of the intersection with the bumper less than two feet from the toddler.
"We just had to blow the whistel. The car stopped and we saved the little girl," said Andres. "I like being safety patrol, because you can have fun saving people's life."
He received a medal from AAA for his action and the Manzanita school picked up $2,000 from AAA to support the safety patrol.
