From People Magazine Heroes Among Us:

CROSSING GUARD JILL COOK, 66
Taking a hit to save a child

As usual, Jill Cook's post at North Crystal Lake Drive and Lowry Avenue in Lakeland, Fla., was busy on the morning of Aug. 16. With Cook's guidance, 7-year-old Amber Stringer had just stepped onto the curb, with her big brother Tony, 10, lagging close behind. But before he could reach the safety of the sidewalk, a pickup truck, out of nowhere, came speeding toward him. Instinctively, Cook pushed Tony out of the way. But she had no time to save herself, and the truck struck her with terrible force. "She flew up, landed on the hood, hit the windshield, and when the truck stopped it threw her off," says Christine Stringer, Amber and Tony's mother, who saw what happened from her nearby backyard and rushed to Cook's side. "I thought she was dead." Cook remained conscious but recalls little of the impact. "The only thought I had was, 'Are the kids okay?' " she says. The pain was excruciating, and small wonder. She'd broken her pelvis, right knee, hip, tibia and fibula and five ribs. (Police say driver Chester Lepriol, 28, was doing about 46 mph in a 15-mph zone; charged with criminal reckless driving, he pleaded not guilty.) A retired nurse and widowed mother of six, Cook is staying with her daughter Jennifer, also a nurse, and faces months of rehab. "She may have a limp, but all her fractures should heal," says her surgeon Dr. George Letson.

The grateful Stringers visit Cook often. "There's a special bond," says Christine, 34. Adds Amber: "I love her very much." Cook downplays her heroism and hopes her story serves as a lesson. "That's my whole goal—for people to be more cautious," she says. "Obey those flashing lights. Don't put on makeup while driving. Don't read the newspaper. Please be careful."