Josenrique Rodriguez stopped about a block from school. The street he had to cross was covered in ice, snow and water, and Rodriguez, 13, didn’t want his feet to get soaked — or his new Air Jordan sneakers to get dirty.
Joe Sass, a school crossing guard, walked over.
“Would it be okay if I pick you up over my shoulder?” Sass, wearing thick boots, recalled asking Rodriguez.
Rodriguez agreed. With Rodriguez slung over his right shoulder and a stop sign in his left hand, Sass carried the seventh-grade student past two crosswalks and placed him on a corner outside Jamieson Elementary School in Chicago.
Then Sass went back to helping other walkers, and Rodriguez began his school day. Unbeknownst to them, a camera from a local news station recorded their nearly 90-second interaction. A reporter posted the video on social media, calling Sass a “HERO CROSSING GUARD.”
HERO CROSSING GUARD carried a kid on their back across a water soaked Chicago street on this frigid morning. @WGNMorningNews Skycam 9 was above the scene as this crossing guard went above and beyond. Well done! pic.twitter.com/POTZL7EsXt
— Marcus Leshock (@marcusleshock) January 22, 2026
The video has received more than 800,000 views, with people on social media calling Sass and other crossing guards unsung heroes.
“Give this man a raise,” one commenter wrote.
“Great crossing guards and great janitors are the backbone of every school,” another person wrote.
“True heroism in everyday moments,” another comment said. “A simple act of care and kindness that made a big difference on a tough morning.”
People clamored for a fundraiser to show their appreciation for essential workers, many of whom do their jobs under the radar.
Sass’s friend created a GoFundMe for him, which has collected over $8,000. Sass said he will donate half the money to a Chicago nonprofit that aims to give young people mentorship, and spend the other half at businesses that have struggled since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surged into Chicago in September.
“I like being a helper,” Sass, 44, told The Washington Post. “And I think if people could think of me as that, then I think that’s like one of the most beautiful things in the world. I’m just a friend out here helping my neighbors.”
Sass has been employed as a crossing guard for Chicago Public Schools for more than four years after working as a cellarman at a cidery. He said he tries to show walkers from Jamieson Elementary School, which has about 850 K-8 students, the same kindness he shows his daughter, Ceridwen, 9.
He gives them fist bumps, asks about their lives and sometimes holds their hands while ensuring they safely cross the street, Sass said.
“These kids, they’re like our babies in the neighborhood,” Sass said.
In recent years, Rodriguez has often been one of the first students in the mornings to give Sass a fist bump.
When Sass started his 8 a.m. shift on Jan. 22, he learned a cast-iron water pipe had ruptured nearby about an hour earlier, causing water and ice to mix with snow already on the ground. The temperature was about 15 degrees. Vehicles from Chicago’s Department of Water Management were stationed a few blocks away, a police car was blocking one street and a helicopter was hovering above the school.
The roads were slick, Sass said, and the roughly 1-foot-deep water almost reached the top of his boots. He stationed himself near an intersection of North California and West Bryn Mawr avenues to help students avoid puddles and ice.
About 15 minutes into Sass’s shift, Rodriguez, who lives about a mile from school, reached the intersection wearing his black, red and blue Air Jordans.
Sass, a former rugby player, asked how much he weighed; about 60 pounds, Rodriguez replied. Sass picked him up from his legs, and when Rodriguez’s water bottle fell out of his backpack, Sass turned around and grabbed it from the ground. After carrying Rodriguez a few dozen feet, Sass lowered him to a sidewalk and patted his back as they went their separate ways.
Shortly after, a WGN reporter shared video of the moment that was recorded from the helicopter. (A representative from Nexstar, which owns WGN, said the video is exclusive to the news station.)
Sass’s family and friends called and texted to tell him he was on the news. At school, word spread that Rodriguez was on TV.
Rodriguez and Sass ran into each other after school and shared their astonishment at their newfound fame. Some of the ice had melted, so Sass did not offer Rodriguez a lift over his shoulder. Rodriguez walked home with clean shoes.
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