ROCKFORD –– Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White today singled
out two Rockford elementary school students for saving the lives
of fellow students by steering their school bus out of harm's way
following an accident that disabled the bus driver.
Secretary White presented the Toby Tire Safety Award to
Nelson Elementary School students Deangelo Lee and John Childress
during a ceremony at the Rockford school.
The safety awards are the first presented by Secretary White
under his new Toby Tire School Bus Safety Program. White also
presented Childress and Lee with personalized copies of the
Millennium Edition of the Illinois Blue Book, the official
directory of Illinois state government.
"These two young men are heroes in the truest sense of the
word," said Secretary White. "They paid attention to the
instruction given to them by their teachers when told about
school bus safety and emergencies and they put into practice what
they were taught.
"The people of Rockford should be proud of the way the boys
responded under pressure and of the way the school district
prepared these young men for an emergency."
The school bus was heading toward Nelson Elementary School
January 31 when it was struck by a pickup truck. The impact
knocked the driver out of the driver's seat and into the
stairwell.
Deangelo leaped from his seat, took control of the bus's
steering wheel and guided the bus to a stop. John then opened
the emergency door and helped the other students to safety.
Secretary White's school bus safety program features Toby
Tire, an animated character who helps children from Kindergarten
through third grade learn the proper procedures for boarding,
riding and exiting the school bus.
"It's an honor for me to present these awards to Deangelo
Lee and John Childress," White said. "Their courage and grace
under pressure will serve for years as an example of school bus
safety throughout Illinois."
