The Mandurah community was left reeling after the tragic death of an eight-year-old boy while riding his bike to school.
For Jeremy Anderberg, who was one of the paramedics first on scene, it left a lasting impact.
Attending a P&C meeting at his daughter's school after his shift everyone was wondering what could be done to make sure this never happened again.
Mr Anderberg came up with the idea to use positive reinforcement to make sure kids knew road safety.
"When I was a kid the police came down to my school and were giving out stickers to kids who were wearing their helmets," he said.
"I'm 37-years-old now and I still put my helmet on everyday because of that so I got a few parent volunteers to hand out stickers for kids doing the right thing on their way to school."
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Oakwood students were given a St John sticker for several reasons such as wearing a helmet, holding a parents hand, getting out the safe side of a car or sharing the path with cyclists safely.
Later on in the week, Mr Anderberg took the ambulance to an assembly and gift vouchers for the local bike shop were given out.
Children then went on excursions to the Constable Care Centre and received St John first aid courses.
It soon created a buzz with kids excited to follow road safety rules.
Mr Anderberg said other schools were now coming on board with the road safety project.
"South Halls Head, Mandurah Baptist College, Lakelands, and Mandurah Primary School now run their own programs," he said.
"It's been great to see each school tailor the road safety project to their needs."
At Oakwood Primary School there is now a track for students to practice their stop signs and crossing safely, and school leaders now help to run road safety events.
Still a paramedic in the Mandurah community, Mr Anderberg said promoting road safety didn't feel like extra work.
"On my days off I'm with my daughter - she loves the road safety projects and gets excited about helping," he said.
"It's a real strength for me seeing her watch me do this."
Mr Anderberg took out the Mandurah Community Citizen of the Year title for turning the tragedy into a learning opportunity.
Although happy to be recognised for his efforts he didn't want to take away from the memory of the boy who sadly lost his life.
"When I was getting the award I was apprehensive because it was a solemn cause for wanting to start this project," he said.
"It was amazing to receive the award from Lisa Munday - when I moved here she was one of those paramedics you look up to and want to be."
To find out more about Mr Anderberg's road safety projects visit, Your Move.
