Tara Jones and Onica Sarjeant Led Daycare Children to Safety During the September 11 Attacks
Teachers Tara Jones and Onica Sarjeant led dozens of children from the Children’s Discovery Center daycare to safety during the September 11, 2001, attacks. The daycare was located in Building 5 of the World Trade Center, which suffered severe structural damage as airplane parts fell on the roof.
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Tara Jones and her colleagues evacuated the children by crawling under turnstiles and gathering near St. Paul’s Chapel. Onica Sarjeant and her son, Yavne’el Montano, arrived shortly after the first plane hit and joined the search for the children. Sarjeant and her group moved toward the water, eventually finding refuge in a church in the East Village. The children were eventually reunited with their parents, including Supurna VedBrat, who found her son at St. Clare’s Hospital. While the teachers and parents described their actions as necessary responses to the day's events, they were eventually reunited with their families. The evacuation saved 28 innocent lives.