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Health and physical education teacher Valerie Tauriello was on drop-off duty in front of Soehl Middle School when she spotted a frantic dad get out of a car to drop off an iPad that his child forgot Wednesday morning, Linden school officials said.
Keen-eyed Tauriello noticed the car start rolling toward a group of students on a sidewalk. Without hesitation, she jumped in the driver's seat to avert tragedy on the first day of school.
Middle School Principal Gwendolyn Long commended Tauriello for her actions.
“She did not hesitate to risk her life to save our students,” Long said.
“In a matter of seconds she informed the father of what’s going on, informed the staff to get the kids out of the way, then thought enough to risk her life, because she could have gotten injured."
“This is the person she is, and this is every day with Ms. Tauriello, thinking of our students first. The Soehl Middle School family is just blessed to have her.”
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