A Bergen County police officer is being hailed as a hero after he saved the life of a kindergarten student who almost got pinned by a car during school drop-off.

Officer Mike Stallone is a special law enforcement officer for the Park Ridge Police Department. He was not supposed to be starting until the next school year. But people say that if he had not been in the right place at the right time, a young child more than likely would have been seriously hurt.

“It was a Tuesday morning – a typical drop-off at school. We were there receiving kids and making sure that they got safely into school,” Stallone says.

Stallone was just a couple of weeks into his new job at the time. He saw a kindergarten student turn away from her school and almost get hit by a car backing up in her direction. Stallone quickly scooped her up out of harm's way.

“When I originally bent over to pick her up, I realized that she was about the height of the bumper and the reverse lights of the car were right up to the side of my face,” Stallone says. “I was more worried about any lasting effects on her once she was physically safe. I wanted her to be as calm and deal with it as quickly as possible.”

Stallone says that the young girl had turned around to pick up a hair clip. He says that he has seen it all during his decades-long career in law enforcement.

Stallone had only recently returned to the field after retiring in 2017.

He says that his service highlights the importance of the partnership between the police and school districts.

“Kids are going to do things that are unpredictable, so whether it’s dropping off for school, during the summer around pools, there never can be enough eyes watching them,” he says. “You don’t know what they’re going to do…I want the kids to really enjoy their summer.”

He says that this is all a good reminder for everyone to be aware of their surroundings as kids get out of school and start summer vacation and camp.