A heroic school crossing guard who pulled a child from the wreckage of a crash is going wildly viral for keeping his cool by repeatedly licking an ice cream in an animated interview about his “crazy” near-miss.
Jamele Ransom was on duty outside a southwest Philadelphia elementary school when a stolen truck ran a red light and crashed into an SUV next to a playground on Tuesday afternoon.
He was quickly praised as being “iconic” for a colorful interview he gave soon after the drama — in which he licked an ice cream cone while dancing around to reflect how he’s been “bobbing and weaving” during the drama.
“I tell you, he ran the red light, T-boned the lady,” recalled Ransom with his crossing-guard cap turned sideways on his head.
“I’m bobbing and weaving,” he said, shimmying sideways to reflect his fast movements.
“I’m just thankful. Thankful to be alive right now. Thank you, Jesus!” he said, slurping one more time from his ice cream.
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“I had to pull a kid out!” he told the reporter of his heroics, explaining he “had to pull whathername’s kid out.”
“I grab a kid out, because he’s stuck, frantic, pull him out. Ain’t nobody in there. Guy’s in there. He’s trapped in there. Then I run out and get myself together because my heart is boom, boom, boom, boom,” Ransom went on.
He said he only avoided getting hit himself because he was standing “in the shade because it’s an 82-degree day today,” also explaining the ice cream he repeatedly licked during the interview.
The drama was “cray — crazy!” the crossing guard said. “My adrenaline is still running.”
Footage of the colorful interview quickly went viral, with many applauding his actions and saluting him as a local character.
“Homie deserved a prize for saving the kid’s life so he took himself to get an ice cream,” wrote a commenter on Instagram.
“So much to unpack here. I love my country Philadelphia,” local sports social media account Philly Dawgs wrote on X.
“Say what you will, wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep knowing that man was my kids crossing guard (I’m just being honest),” wrote a second X user.
“This made my day,” added a third X user.
Philadelphia police said the work truck was stolen and was seen speeding before running a red light and crashing into an SUV, sending it flying into a parked car.
Footage showed the truck on its side on a playground, with multiple damaged vehicles nearby and a crowd of children and adults standing around.
No children were at the playground at the time of the crash and no students were hurt, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia School District told NBC10.
Officials have not released any details on whether anyone inside any of the vehicles involved was injured or whether any arrests have been made.
