Around 8:00am Wednesday, March 2, 2022, Mackenzie Holliday, one of Crestview Police Department’s school crossing guards, saved a student’s life thanks to her quick reaction to an oncoming truck.
Holliday, and counterpart Eric Marshall, staff a portion of Hwy 85 each morning and afternoon for those walking to and from a local elementary school.
According to Holliday, the traffic had been stopped and the truck was not in line of sight when they gave the student the go ahead to cross.
“Everything happened so fast, but I can honestly say that in that split second my mind was focused on her without even realizing,” she said. “I have a daughter her age and all I could think about was what would I want someone to do to protect my child.”
The crossing guard program is a long-standing entity in the community. In 2016, the program fell back under the Crestview Police Department, where it saw a revamp in training.
- Holliday has been a part of the unit for a month now.
The Crestview Police Department was able to identify the vehicle.
“Speeders, aggressive and distracted drivers beware,” wrote the Crestview PD in a press release. “There is ZERO Tolerance for people who commit violations in school zones or put the lives of our community’s children in harms way.”
