Fresno City Council issues proclamation for 'Roosevelt Strong Day'

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno City Council issued a proclamation declaring September 28, 2023, as "Roosevelt Strong Day."

At Thursday's council meeting, city leaders recognized the heroic actions of Roosevelt High School staff.

On September 7, a truck crashed into a bus stop near the school in southeast Fresno and injured 11 teens.

Dr. Steven Spencer, an English teacher, recalls the moment he was driving away from the school as the truck crashed into the FAX bus stop where several students were waiting.

"The truck was smoking -- I had to go in there and turn off the truck so it didn't catch on fire," he shared. "Then there was a student that was right next to the truck. I had to drag her away to get her out of the immediate danger area."

Spencer's heroic actions - along with the actions of other school staff -- were recognized by Councilmember Luis Chavez and Mayor Jerry Dyer.

"The mayor and I actually had the opportunity to go out there that day," said Chavez. "It was an emotional day. It was a very difficult day, but it also showed the strength in our community."

School staff, parents and students weren't the only ones on scene taking action to help those hurt.

City leaders also recognized the efforts of Fresno Police, Fresno Fire and emergency medical services.

Fire Chief Billy Alcorn said emergency responders train for mass casualty incidents every year. They're rare in Fresno, but he said this tragedy proved the effectiveness of a unified response.

"Just to watch everybody come together with multiple patients coming forward, multiple injuries and everybody performed just like they would in that sterile training environment. I thought was very was just great," said Chief Alcorn.

During the proclamation presentation, Mayor Dyer shared that the bus stop shelter also played a role in protecting the teens because it was recently upgraded and reinforced with steel supports.

'If it would've hit one of our normal bus shelters in Fresno, I think we would have had some fatalities," said Dyer.

According to school leaders, many students are still traumatized following the tragedy but things are getting back to normal - which shows the resiliency of Roosevelt High.

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