Tara Sandstrom was helping two children cross a Utah street when a stopped vehicle began moving toward them — prompting her to spring into action
NEED TO KNOW
- Crossing guard Tara Sandstrom was helping two children cross a street in Lehi, Utah, on Sept. 16 when a stopped vehicle began moving toward them
- Video shows Sandstrom immediately rushing toward the vehicle and signaling for the driver to stop
- “My instinct was simply to protect the kids and make sure everyone stayed safe,” Sandstrom said
A Utah crossing guard sprang into action when a car began moving toward two children who were still making their way through a crosswalk.
Tara Sandstrom was working at a school crosswalk in Lehi, Utah, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, when the frightening encounter unfolded. “My instinct was simply to protect the kids and make sure everyone stayed safe,” she told Storyful.
Footage captured by Sandstrom shows her standing in the roadway with her stop sign raised as two children on scooters enter the crosswalk.
Credit: Tara Sandstrom via Storyful
A horn can then be heard before a white vehicle that had been stopped at the intersection begins moving forward. Sandstrom immediately rushes toward the vehicle, putting herself between the car and the children while signaling and yelling for the driver to stop.
The vehicle stops, and the children are able to continue across the street.
“I felt immediate fear and concern because there were children still in the crosswalk and a vehicle was moving toward them,” Sandstrom told Storyful.
Sandstrom later shared the footage on Instagram, where it garnered nearly 8 million views.
“Superhero right there!” one commenter wrote, while another added, “Didn’t even hesitate – you are superwoman!”
In the caption accompanying the video, Sandstrom said she had been watching the vehicle throughout the crossing while simultaneously keeping track of traffic approaching from other directions.
“As a crossing guard, my head is constantly on a swivel,” she wrote. “I am watching the crosswalk, the vehicles immediately around me, and traffic approaching from both directions.”
Sandstrom also reminded motorists that stopping for a crosswalk means remaining stopped until pedestrians are safely out of it.
“Please don’t assume that because you’re stopped, you can start creeping forward,” she wrote. “If children, parents, walkers, or other pedestrians are still in the crosswalk, stay stopped and wait for the crossing to be completely clear and for the crossing guard to release traffic.”
Sandstrom said she knows most drivers aren’t deliberately trying to create a dangerous situation, but warned that it only takes one distracted or impatient motorist for an ordinary school morning to become dangerous.
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“This isn’t about being difficult or holding up traffic. It’s about giving kids the safest possible crossing,” she wrote.
“These rules exist because getting our kids across the street safely is more important than saving a few seconds.”
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