Clarkstown school bus driver receives heroism award
Christina Rickert, a bus driver in the Clarkstown school district, has received the 2010 New York State Bus Driver Heroism Award for actions this winter that saved the life of a student. The award is given by the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute and the New York Association for Pupil Safety.
Rickert was driving a school bus earlier this year when she saw three students playing on a snowbank not far from the roadside. Relying on experience and instinct, Rickert brought the bus to a stop. Moments later one of the students slipped on the snowbank and slid under the school bus. Though she did not see the student slide under the bus, she stopped because she sensed the danger in their play.
“All I did was what I’ve been trained to do at work,” Rickert said while accepting the award. “This reward is really for all of us at Clarkstown.”
Clarkstown school superintendent Margaret Keller-Cogan praised Rickert’s actions.
“We are very fortunate that due to Ms. Rickert’s skill, experience and judgment, the disregard of the students for their personal safety that winter day did not end in tragedy,” said Keller-Cogan. “Her actions were examplary, and her comitment to safety is what parents envision when they put their children on Clarkstown school buses.”
Rickert received the award on July 11 before an audience of 500 people in Saratoga Springs at the NYAPT Annual Safety Conference.
