A crowd gathered at Trinity Communion Church in Irondequoit to dedicate a memorial to a school crossing guard who gave her life saving three girls from a drunken driver more than 35 years ago.
Bertha Gawens was helping a group of girls cross St. Paul Boulevard in April of 1982 when she realized an oncoming driver wasn’t going to stop. She shoved the girls out of the way and took the main force of the blow herself. Three of the girls were injured but recovered. Gawens was left in a coma and never woke up.
Those girls and their own families were among the 100 people who came to honor Bertha Gawens and dedicate the memorial to her on St. Paul Boulevard. State Senator Joe Morelle attended and Tweeted the photo.