In an age where so many tragic stories fill up our newsfeeds on a daily basis, it’s important to highlight the actions of the everyday heroes who touch our lives.
Sandra Ferguson is one such hero, and she has come in for major praise after saving one of her 11-year-old students from an attempted kidnap.
Ferguson, who is a teaching assistant in California, was driving to school last Friday morning when she saw a young girl from her class getting into a car with a man who she knew not to be the girl’s father.
Concerned by the scene before her, Ferguson drove up to the man’s car and asked the girl if the man was her dad.
“I asked her, ‘Sweetheart, is that your dad?’ She said, ‘No, he’s a friend.’ I said, ‘No, he’s not your friend.’ That’s when I said, ‘Uh-oh, that’s not right’…I told her to get out,” Ferguson told local media.
Ferguson proceeded to block the car with her own, before calling the police. The 51-year-old man, who has since been named as Santiago Salazar, was arrested on the scene on suspicion of kidnap.
According to reports, Salazar had followed the 11-year-old and lured her into his car. Thankfully, due her teacher’s quick-thinking, the girl escaped the incident unharmed.
Commenting on the incident, the girl’s school principal, Debra Harrington, said: “Part of being a good educator is following your gut instinct. And that’s exactly what Sandra did on Friday morning.”
Thank heavens this teacher was on hand to prevent anything sinister from happening.
