St. Cloud Crossing Guard Struck by Car

Every day that children walk to and from school, crossing guards stand at intersections to ensure that drivers are aware when pedestrians are present and to safely ferry the kids across the street. These crossing guards wear reflective gear and hold stop signs, making them fairly easy to see. All of this makes it surprising that an incident took place shortly after 8:00 in the morning on Thursday, October 8^th, involving a car striking a crossing guard within the city of St. Cloud.

Reports from the St. Cloud Police Department indicated that the crossing guard was working at the intersection of 13th Street and Michigan Avenue, close to Michigan Avenue Elementary School located in St. Cloud. Shortly after 8:00, a vehicle was driving down the eastern lanes of either 13th Street or Michigan Avenue when they reached the intersection. Witnesses to the scene informed the authorities that at the time the car reached the intersection, the light for their lane of travel was red. An investigation remains underway into what exactly happened within the car, but we do know that the driver did not stop at the red light and instead attempted to speed through the intersection.

It is when lights turn red that crossing guards begin to walk across the street. The sight is familiar: the guard holds up the stop sign and walks to the center of the street before allowing the children waiting on the sidewalk to cross. In Thursday’s incident, the crossing guard had either begun crossing to the center or had reached the center of the street when the car came through the intersection and struck them. After hitting the crossing guard, the driver of the vehicle stopped their car and remained at the scene while authorities were called and paramedics rushed to provide emergency medical care to the victim.

As well as the crossing guard suffering from severe injuries, numerous elementary school students were standing on the sidewalk and watching as the events unfolded. The Osceola School District reported that it was reaching out with its crisis team to the parents of these children.

The driver of the car was not injured in the incident and cooperated with authorities during the preliminary investigation.

Sources:

• Police: Red-light runner strikes, severely injures St. Cloud crossing guard

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.