A new viral Philly character just dropped. He’s an ice cream-loving crossing guard.
Jamele Ransom has gone viral for eating ice cream during an interview about a car crash.
Move over, Gritty. The internet has a new favorite Philly character. A Southwest Philly crossing guard has gone viral for a colorful interview he gave NBC10 about a car crash he witnessed Tuesday afternoon. In between licks of a soft-serve ice cream cone, Jamele Ransom described how a truck crashed into a playground outside Mitchell Elementary School.
“He ran the red light, T-boned the lady. I’m bobbing and weaving,” Ransom told NBC10, ducking down and popping back up to show how he dodged the truck. “I’m just thankful. Thankful to be alive right now. Thank you, Jesus,” he added, before dipping back into his ice cream cone.
Ransom, who donned sunglasses and a sideways-turned crossing guard hat, claimed to pull a child — “what’s her name’s nephew,” he said — out of harm’s way. “I run and grab a kid out, because he’s stuck, frantic, pull him out,” Ransom said, nodding his head and licking his ice cream cone. “Then I run out and get myself together because my heart is boom, boom, boom, boom.”
School district officials said no children were on the playground when the truck entered the schoolyard, and no students were hurt. Ransom did not respond to a request for comment.
The crash came after what police described as a brief crime spree in Southwest Philadelphia. Investigators said 18-year-old Robert Littlepage of Douglasville, Ga., tried to carjack a woman near the 6300 block of Grays Avenue around 2:13 p.m. Shortly afterward, he stole a white utility truck that had been left running, hit a parked SUV, jumped the curb, broadsided an occupied vehicle, ran a red light at 55th Street and Kingsessing Avenue, and then barreled through the playground.
Littlepage was arrested at the scene and taken to a local hospital for medical evaluation before arrest processing, police said. He is expected to be charged with attempted carjacking, aggravated assault, reckless driving, and related offenses.
Meanwhile, Ransom, the crossing guard, has been dubbed a hero by the internet.
“Folks, we’ve got an instant Philadelphia legend here,” wrote X user @jorilextera.
Ransom’s account has since been picked up by Yahoo, the New York Post and Barstool Sports, who referred to Ransom as a “literal hero.”