Milpitas 9-Year-Old Recognized as '911 Hero'

By Bay City News Service

Four northern California children received medals at the state Capitol today for their quick actions in calling 911 to save lives or report a crime.

Retired Oakland Raider Tim Brown joined emergency responders in Sacramento to recognize the students and the dispatchers who took their calls.

San Ramon resident Alexa Hile Lewis, 8, is one of four youngsters receiving the "911 Local Heroes Medal of Honor" today.

Last month, the fourth-grader was at home with her mother and great-grandmother when her mother fell ill.

She quickly called 911, calmly answered all of the dispatcher's questions and got her mother the help she needed, said Kimberley French, spokeswoman for the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, which handled the call.

"Alexa and the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District emergency dispatcher, Robert Vega, were nominated to receive this award by the fire district," fire district communications center manager Denise Pangelinan said. "They both did an outstanding job and are rightfully being recognized for their efforts."

Alexa was joined by 7-year-old Tureik Blake, of Oakland; 9-year-old Heather Nguyen, of Milpitas; and Connor Malone, 12, of Davis, who are also being awarded for their bravery and quick thinking in calling 911 during recent emergencies. The event was scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.

The 911 for Kids Local 911 Heroes program is a nationwide emergency caller training program established in 1999 to reward heroic youngsters who called 911 to save a life or property or report a crime.

Of the hundreds of thousands of calls made to 911 each day, many of the callers are young children, according to the organization.

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