New Jersey Crossing Guard Fatality

On October 26, 2005, NJ FACE staff received a newspaper article about a municipal adult school crossing guard who was killed after being struck by a sport utility vehicle (SUV) while at work. NJ FACE staff investigated this incident as part of a NJ FACE research project, the goal of which is to publish a warning bulletin regarding school crossing guard fatalities. A NJ FACE investigator contacted the victim’s employer on November 14, 2005, and conducted an on-site investigation on November 29, 2005. The investigating police officer was interviewed and the incident site was viewed and photographed. Additional information on the reckless driving incident was obtained from the police report, the medical examiner’s report, and the Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) Program inspection file. In addition, the Automobile Association of America (AAA), the local police academy, a county engineer’s office, and several other agencies were also contacted to obtain background information on adult school crossing guard procedures and safety concerning drivers and moving violations.

The victim’s employer was a municipal police department (SIC 9221, NAICS 922120) in a New Jersey town of 2.6 square miles and 8,700 residents. The police department employed nine full-time and two part-time adult crossing guards to cover nine posts. There were no written job or safety procedures for the crossing guards. However, each guard was sent for state-mandated classroom training for crossing guards at the county police academy, with the three-hour course covering methods of traffic control and the duties and responsibilities of the guards. Guards also received supervised on-the-job training by a police officer until deemed competent to cover the post on their own. The town supported a safety committee that met quarterly with representatives from each department, including the police department who represented the crossing guards. Police department employees were unionized under a municipal employees association.

The victim was an 81-year-old white female who had worked for the township for 15 years. She had successfully completed the school crossing guard training course in August 2001. The employer stated that she worked an active post and was energetic and reliable. She was survived by her four children and four grandchildren.

The Investigation

Under New Jersey law (NJ Statutes Title 40A:9-154), adult school crossing guards fall under the jurisdiction of the local police who are responsible for traffic control. This law states that no person can be appointed as an adult school crossing guard unless he/she meets the following requirements:

• Is a citizen and resident of this state,
• Is sound in body and of good health,
• Is of good moral character, and
• Has not been convicted of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude.

In addition, the law requires a minimum of two hours of classroom training and 20 hours of supervised on-the-job training. When hiring new guards, the employer conducted a background check, performed one-on-one interviews, and verified that the applicants were physically capable of doing the job. Once hired, the guards attended a three-hour training course at the county police academy, followed by a period of supervised on-the-job training. The employer stated that all guards were issued a reflective vest, a non-reflective bright orange rain coat, and a non-reflective hand-held stop sign. As per NJ law, the guards received a yearly appointment and must be re-appointed each year after their terms expire.

The town where the incident occurred supported two elementary schools (K-6th grade) and one high school (7-12th grade), with the population of the high school being 559 students. Before establishing a school crossing post, the police conduct a study to determine the pedestrian flows, traffic patterns, and sight lines. If an area is chosen, crossing lines and warning signs are installed in the area. Using this method, the police created nine crossing posts in the town. Each school crossing guard was required to report to his/her posts for the following shifts: the 7:15 to 9:00 a.m. morning shift, the 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. lunch shift, and the 2:40 to 4:00 p.m. afternoon shift. Most guards drove to their assignments and parked close to their posts. The police checked each post to insure it was occupied and provided coverage if it was not. The employer estimated that the guards crossed from 50 to 70 children during a normal morning shift.

The incident occurred on the morning of Tuesday, October 25, 2005. The weather on the morning of the incident was cloudy and raining, with a temperature of approximately 50°F. A police officer reported arriving at a neighboring school crossing post at 7:18 a.m. and activated the flashing yellow school warning signs. Sunrise for the area that morning was at 7:19 a.m., and the street lights were reportedly still lit in the cloudy dawn light. The victim’s crossing post was located approximately 200 feet south of the police officer’s post, on a straight section of street with clear lines of sight to the north and south. She had driven to the post and parked her car nearby. She was wearing her uniform for the day, which included a long orange plastic raincoat and a hand-held stop sign. There were no reports of her wearing a reflective vest.

At 7:24 a.m., the victim raised her stop sign and stepped into the crosswalk to help three children cross the street, possibly the first crossing of her day. Witnesses reported that she stepped into the northbound traffic lane and was facing the southbound traffic when she was struck from behind by a large SUV. The driver was a 70-year-old male adult school crossing guard for a neighboring town who was driving to his second day of work. He was driving a large, 1987 SUV with a gross vehicle weight of 6,800 pounds. A newspaper quoted him as saying, “It was raining really hard and visibility wasn’t great, and I saw her step off the curb and I slammed on the brakes, but I have a big heavy truck and it skidded. I couldn’t stop, and it went right over her.” The truck struck the victim, who landed on the hood of the SUV and then fell to the street. The SUV stopped briefly and then moved forward, running over the victim and dragging her approximately ten feet until stopping again with her trapped under the rear axle. Witnesses immediately made numerous 911 calls for help. The police arrived quickly and found the victim pinned in a sitting position under the SUV. EMS and fire units used extrication air bags to lift the vehicle and free the victim, who was taken by ambulance to the local hospital. Despite efforts to save her, she died of her injuries a few hours later, at 12:00 p.m.

The police investigation of the incident found that the SUV did not have any mechanical defects that would have contributed to the incident. The driver was cited for four violations: reckless driving, careless driving, disregard of a traffic officer directing traffic, and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.