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NEW YORK -- A 6-year-old boy was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer one block from his school Thursday morning while the crossing guard was taking a break, according to a law enforcement official.
The boy, identified as Amar Diarrosova, was walking with his 9-year-old brother and was crossing First Avenue in East Harlem just before 8 a.m. when the tractor-trailer turned right onto the avenue from 117th Street.
The older boy was not struck.
A law enforcement official told NBC 4 New York that the 55-year-old crossing guard was allowed the short personal break, but did not note it in her memo book. She has been suspended from her job, police said.
The children were one block from PS 155 and were in the crosswalk, police said.
Diarrosova was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver was cited for failure to yield and failure to exercise due care, police said.
The boy's distraught parents did not speak to reporters as they returned to their apartment except to answer a question about how the 9-year-old brother was doing after the accident.
"He's OK, thank you," the boy's father said.
'Sweet boy'
It's unclear why the parents were not with the young boys as they walked to school, which is 12 blocks away from where they live.
Family friend Maya Toure called Amar a "sweet boy," telling NBC 4 New York the boy loved school and "he prayed a lot."
City Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito questioned whether the intersection has enough crossing guards to protect children from the heavily traveled roadway.
"People have to take breaks," she said. "People are working and they're out on the street and they have to do what they have to do. But if there's any way we can create of look at whether there's any plans to make sure there's coverage if the person has to step away for any reason."
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Sorry for the boy. That truck driver is screwed.
That truck driver SHOULD be screwed.
What a terrible tragic shame. The innocent little boy had no idea of the dangers. He's too young to understand. RIP little one...
Why do they need a break?! They're not out there all day. I can see an 8 hr shift but how long does it take for kids to walk to school?
"Then" the crossing guard gets a break for up to 6 hrs then go back to crossing children for an hour.
It's not like they're shoveling snow where you would need a break. I think taking a break from crossing children on streets it taboo.
This is like the "last" profession where you would take a break while at work. WTF man...
cd right on the mark! how long can a crossing guard work an hour maybe? must be union! sad for the young man and his brother.
The crossing guard union rules clearly stipulate the guard is entitled to take a break so why is everyone complaining? <sarcasm people>
In my neighborhood the older, retired people who serve as guards never take a break until all the kids are in school, but then again, they don't have union protection. As usual, there is a trade-off: safety and lower wages or union love. <more sarcasm for the easily offended>
Yeah Creek Dog you tell 'em!! Only work 4 hours and need a break? What the hell does a 55 year old woman need a break for? Don't they wear depends anyway?
(SARCASM OFF)
I have 4 grown kids. NO WAY IN HELL at ages 6 and 9 were they walking to school alone, NO WAY IN HELL. Yeah, I worked a job, went to school, played in a band AND my wife worked full time and went to school as well, IT IS CALLED SCHEDULING!
Is this incident a tragedy? YES, one that COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED had the PARENTS or another adult been with them. Irresponsible people think a nanny state is going to protect them when the job of protecting the children falls solely on the PARENTS!
Now, please collapse my comment as most people on the Vine have a serious issue with the truth.
Monterey, you're an azzhole...
Two adults (driver & guard) with the active responsibility to keep others safe f-ed up and a child is dead! A citation?! Accidents happen, but every driver knows to look for and YIELD to pedestrians! Who the hell told her she could take f-n breaks?! It isn't like crossing guards have long damn days. She has to do her important job for an hour before and an hour after school. If you can't do your job for that short period of time, you shouldn't be there!
Define stupidity and callousness and insensitivity and irrelevance today. Yes you guessed it right - that's Monterey Jim.
The ironic part is that the boys are this young and have to walk to school alone so that their parents can work to afford paying taxes which this crossing guard sucks up.
What a tragedy, the crossing guard will not bear any of the blame for this though, thanks to the public unions.
GM CD
Politician Speak for "I don't know why the crossing guard was off the post". I'm sure they will come up with some "justification".
However, most school crossing guards are only there for 1-2 hours in the morning when the children are going to school and 1-2 hours in the afternoon when they are leaving school. Like CD asks, "Why the break"?
Actually Jack, it's more saying "the public unions put me in this position and I am not willing to say anything bad about a public union employee"
You need to live in a blue state to understand just how politics work in them.
Ummmmmm......ya'll want to blame the driver and the guard, but my question is how could parents allow their children to walk over a mile to school alone? Indeed, there were two of them, but I find that to be the shocking thing in this story. Maybe, I am old school, but at that age in Harlem......really? Unfortunate accident.
The stress of the job, long hours, unappreciated, low pay, no benefits, no 401k, over worked on their 2 hour shift. People can only take so much.
12 city blocks is about 1/2 mile. NYC crossing guard is a p/t job under NYPD. It's not a union job, and it only pays about $10/hr. Children walking to school in NYC is not unusual. Hell, we didn't even have crossing guards. That must have been something enacted a decade or so ago. By the time I was in HS I had to take a bus and two trains. And it's easy to pile on the crossing guard, but keep in mind those children had to cross ten other blocks before getting to the school.
Sadly for any child who has to walk unattended it's a role of the dice at every intersection in the city, and I say that from experience.
How the eff do you people know what this crossing guard's shift was?! Maybe this is a permanently manned intersection and she's out there directing traffic for 8 hours. I don't know, and neither do any of you (as it is clear you are just guessing she's only there for "an hour or two.") If she's allowed breaks, chances are she's got a full shift.
Thank you, Reasonable. In most cities, kids walk, take city busses, and jump on trains. They cross intersection after intersection before ever getting to one with a guard. This is a tragedy, but everyone blaming the crossing guard is just ridiculous.
A break at 8am? Bet it was sneaking-a-cigarette-without-the-kids-seeing-it brak and I bet it's been going on for a long time but won't happen again.
Yeah, brainwashed? She couldn't *possibly* have been working other traffic detail or directing traffic at that intersection for hours on end at 8:00 am. NOBODY works overnight. Nobody.
It's hilarious that the parents haven't been blamed, they should be charged with neglect. A nine year old isn't old enough to walk a six year old to school. Yeah go after the crossing guard.. They weren't her children however. When you are a parent it is 24/7 job, it doesn't end because you're too lazy to get out of bed and take them to school. Can't do it? Don't have kids.
8am? huh! was she out there all freaking night? What was she helping drunks and hookers cross the street all night before the kids got there at 8am? WTF!
maybe the truck driver should have been on break, since he too was obviously not paying attention. maybe the union said it was time for her break but the truck driver had to wait 30 minutes more minutes for his. Maybe?
God I hope you're being sarcastic, but it is so tough to tell, because that is exactly how a public employee thinks.
With all due respect for the boy and his family.
Why doesn't MSN run an article EVERY DAY for the children lost to automobile deaths..... instead of their constant drum beating about gun deaths?....... NOT ENOUGH SPACE FOR THAT... RIGHT ???????
This precious boy's life is just as important as those caused by ALL other causes (eg. swimming pools, house fires, deranged parents etc etc).
End tractor trailer violence now!
gm CD, jack
The rest of the story...
The truck driver had a green light and was not speeding. He didn't even know he had struck the child. His back tire hit the boy and he returned when someone ran after him to tell him what had happened.
The crossing guard only works twenty hours per week and gets insurance and retirement benefits. This particular guard has been the subject of complaints by parents who say she is constantly on the phone and is never really working or paying attention.
She left without permission for her break and went home to use the bathroom, she said. She is supposed to report in when she takes a break during the hours when children are crossing for school.
By the way, her shift started at 7:30, and the child was struck at 7:58. So she worked 28 minutes before needing a break. And she had worked at the job for ten years. When is the last time a ten year employee of a Union was suspended for thirty days WITHOUT pay when an incident was NOT clearly their fault?
One Hispanic covering for another, or just a politician angling for more money in the budget?
They are going to need a LOT more crossing guards if those people have to have a break every twenty minutes on the job.
I was a patrol boy in school I had a section I checked we were on every corner, and on the busy streets was a crossing guard. we were there before the students started and we were the last to come into the school and the crossing guard did not leave her post until we crossed I know I worked with the crossing guard. Her break was after the children crossed. Before during and after school. We couldn't be missed we had on bright Orange belts.
When I was 6 I knew to look both ways before crossing a street. Twice. Maybe even 3 times. And in the city you have lights and crosswalks and walk/don't walk signs. A tractor trailer doesn't just come out of nowhere. It's sad that a 6 year old has died but maybe we should be teaching kids to be more responsible rather than blaming everyone else. Maybe the crossing guard needed to go to the bathroom. Or a slew of other possibilities. Or maybe she was just irresponsible. What if the kids had crossed somewhere without a guard and this happened? What if the kid just stepped out in front of a truck that had a green light? Accidents happen. And sometimes those accidents are horrific but they are still accidents.
While it is conceivable that someone may need to take a break for personal reasons - such as diarrhea or a sudden need to pee - there should have been someone to relieve her at least - no pun intended.
Kaleb, she is a crossing guard, not a traffic cop. She is hired ONLY to cross children across the street during to and from school hours, maybe 2 hour shifts....tops.
GM Mimi
Spot on Mimi. That is correct! You sound like Paul Harvey!!! ;*)
and... "Fire for Effect"!
I used to drive a tractor trailer and the most terrifying thing was waiting at a light and not being able to tell if all pedestrians have gone when the light changed. (This was far worse in NYC where they ignored the light and always run in front of you.) I used to find someone on the street looking my directiion and watch for horror in their eyes as I started to move foward. It was the only way I tell for sure, it's that bad.
bosco66, Nice pile of speculation, but none of your "what ifs" are relevant or make sense. Did you have trouble reading the story? The truck was making a right turn. That means the boys had the right of way.
The driver was cited for failing to yield to pedestrians and for failure to excersize due caution. You go on blaming the victims if that makes you feel better...
Guard or not, Kids in crosswalk, truck is supposed to yield. So now when the owner of the truck gets sued by the family of the dead kid for putting a deadly instument (the truck) in the hands of an incompetent (the driver) are we going to hear about how the lawyers are killing business in America ? Because God knows, commerce requires a little kid give up his life walking to school once in a while. It's a simple fact, a little death here and there makes for good business. (that'd be sarcasm - before you crank up the response).
If the above is true about the truck driver having a green light to turn and the rear wheel striking the child, it's hard to see how the truck driver is to blame. The cab of the truck was probably over 50 feet from the intersection when the child was hit, and likewise when the truck started it's turn the kids could have been 20+ feet from the intersection. Being children, they probably didn't realize that when a truck like that turns, the rear end will cut in closer than the mid-section of the truck and may have started walking into the street thinking the truck was nearly past.
The blame here really falls to the crossing guard who apparently can't work for 28 minutes without needing a break. However, I wouldn't be letting a 9 year old walk a 6 year old to school. Even if both parents were working, were there not friends, neighbors, relatives that could have walked them? At least one adult?
And you have to live in a Red State to believe that a 55 y/o person who works 2-4 hr's per day is a union member. No this was obviously a low wage scab with no work ethic at all. Kind of like the kid that throws your hamburger together and misses the cheese...minimum wage.
How on earth can you people try to pin this on the crossing guard? Folks have to use the bathroom, or do whatever, and it's perfectly acceptable to take a break! There are three people who's fault it clearly is, however: the two parents for making their young children walk to school alone, and the driver for not being more careful in a school zone. The parents shouldn't be charged; they are getting punished enough with the loss of their boy. The driver, however, should have the book thrown at him.
Meanwhile, the crossing guard company needs to figure out how it's going to cover the guards' breaks in the future to help prevent morons like that truck driver from running down small children who are walking to school.
Okay, after reading that it was the back tire of the trailer that killed the boy, I don't think this was the driver's fault, unless he turned in too sharply and struck the boy. Otherwise, the boy may have simply stepped out too soon and got hit. This death is squarely on the head of the parents, sadly for them. It was a risk they were willing to take, sending their children to walk to school alone.
In my area, crossing guards are employed during the times the kids are coming and going from school. Surely the guard can stand there for 45 minutes morning and afternoon without leaving her post.
I can't help but notice that everybody is saying that people shouldn't have to go to the bathroom during a 2 hour shift. I would tend to agree. However, on a different story, an office manager had made a rule that employees were only allowed to take 3 bathroom breaks. No specification of when, but if you took one before lunch, went during your lunch break, and then took two after lunch, that would be about one every two hours and everyone was up in arms about it saying people need to go to the bathroom at least once an hour. I disagreed and was soundly shouted down. Now it seems everyone has changed their tune. So, I guess minimum wage older crossing guards need to hold it, while white collar workers in their 20s get to go every hour, or perhaps more.
It must be a UNION job!! If you can't stay out their the whole shift (2 hours) don't take the job!!
NO SHOULD TAKE A BREAK WHILE THE KIDS ARE STILL CROSSING!!
Even if she was working other traffic detail. When it comes to crossing children, taking a break is the "LAST" thing to do while on duty.
If a fender bender happens while taking a break during traffic detail, what's the big deal versus a child being killed. "Think" about it. Jeeeez.....
Seriously?! Fk'n "SERIOUSLY?!"
How 'bout a pilot flying you to a destination taking a break to pee with no auto pilot. "Think" about it...
We're talking "children" here. No experience at mechanics nor do they understand typical every day dangers all around them yet.
A truck driver sits way up high with a7 to 8 foot high front end. There are thousands of incidents per year where people will cross or pause right in front, up close to the truck (the driver cannot see you now) and the light will change from which the truck driver goes on his way.
Now, (for the guys who are blaming the truck driver) guess what the scenario is here.
This is why it's mandatory for school buses to have the pedestrian guard that opens up in front of the vehicle when their lights come on. It forces the children out farther from the bumper so the driver can see them easier.
They (most buses) also have those convexed round mirrors on the corner of their front ends to see below and out front of their vehicle.
All in all, what a terrible shame and terrible way for a child to die. It breaks my heart man.
Sorry Katy, but if I take an extra break in my office job, a kid is not going to die crossing the street. I can and often do work extra hours in the evening to get work done when it piles up. School is only in session for set hours and the guards should plan accordingly. If that means not drinking anything for 2 hours before work, so be it.
I highly doubt there is a "crosssing guard union". There sure isn't one in my town and they are not entitled to, and shouldn't be entitled to take breaks. The kids lives are more important than a break for a 1 hour job.
Steve, I don't care how often you go to the bathroom. My point was that a lot of people were saying that it was unhealthy to go to the bathroom less than once an hour (even after I pointed out that those with bladder spams are to try to increase their times between bathroom breaks to AT LEAST two hours), and I'm sure that some of those same people were commenting here that she shouldn't have had to go to the bathroom. Just pointing out the hipocrisy.
I walked to school from first grade on. I realize that was in the dark ages, but... Parents work. The healthiest people have the occasional surprise need for speed to the can. What I wonder is how can a kid walk out into the Middle of a semi. Was he looking down at a game pad or something? Why didn't his brother pull him back? This is tragedy. But it seems several factors account for it.
Yep. But in my opinion, the truck driver is 10x more at fault than the crossing guard.
Imagine if the crossing guard was a 6th grader on Safety Patrol (as they have near schools in my area). Can't blame the unions for that one, could you.
Imagine if there was no crossing guard (which is far more common).
There were 2 kids in that cross walk. Truck driver bears most of the blame.
Well, what the he!! were two boys under ten doing walking alone on a busy street. Where the he!! were the parents at? Still to this day, parents don't take responcablity for their actions. Buy a child a violant video game and blame the game makers, buy the child a bebe gun and blame the gun makers. Where is the accountablity for bad parenting at. The old boy should be taken form them and given to a responceable adult before he is found dead.
tag, I'm going to have to agree with you. It's not cool that the crossing gaurd didn't ask permission to go but then I don't know how that whole system works... would she call on a walkie-talkie, a phone? Would someone come right away? Was there anyone to relieve this person? Idk, I just think it was a very unfortunate accident but why was the brother totally unharmed and didn't pull his little brother back?
She called in to report for duty ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but she never even showed up at all.
Later she said she had an emergency.
I guess as long as she clocked in, you know, That's all that mattered to her.
The kid "DARTED OUT INTO THE STREET"
How is that the truck drivers fault?
The crossing guard clocked in but never bothered to show up.
The parents didn't take the kids to school and hold their hands.
They taught the 6 year old to PRAY A LOT but never taught him to hold his brothers hand or look both ways.
How is it the truck drivers fault?
According to the local news, witnesses saw the crossing guard returning to her post from a bathroom break, but they said she was a couple of blocks away and there are several businesses with bathrooms she could have used right on her corner. Eventually we will find out what she was really doing that cost this boy his life.
Oops. I guess my reading comprehension wasn't all it should be this morning. My bad. How did I miss that the truck was making a turn when he hit the kid. In that case it's totally the truck drivers fault. End of story. If the crossing guard had been there she might have gotten run over too.
WTF? As a crossing guard you work an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, you don't need a break. Go to the bathroom before you take your post. I don't absolve the truck diver of fault here, but I don't buy the argument that the crossing guard would have gotten run over, too. Her job is to make sure the intersection is clear before allowing the kids to cross, not to throw herself in front of a truck. If she was there, she may have prevented the child from crossing the intersection rather than just being run over with him.
The parents and the crossing guard screwed up. The truck driver was the only one doing his job.
Witnesses say the kid "DARTED OUT INTO TRAFFIC."
The crossing guard clocked in by phone but never even showed up that morning.
Then she lied about the break.
She didn't want to risk loosing money so she lied to her employer.
I see from a lot of the comments here that a lot of people have no idea what it's like to drive a big truck and they have never driven one. It's not as easy to see things as you might think. In certain situations you can't see a six foot tall man in front of one let alone a small child. There are times you can't see a car if it's stopped and sitting right in front of it. It's bad what happened but he probably never saw him.
The 6 year old boy prayed a lot.
No one bothered to teach him to hold his brothers hand.
No, Bosco, it's not "End of Story."
That crossing guard lived half a block from her post, and she was REQUIRED to report in if she needed to take a break.
She was supposed to report to work at 7:30 and the child was killed at 7:58.
The truck was turning on a green light and the child was hit by the rear tire. The driver never saw the child and didn't know he had struck him, but turned around and came back when he was flagged down.
The child is Muslim and the guard is Hispanic. How is that relevant? You figure it out. Look at what the woman on the City Council said, making excuses for the guard (Councilwoman is Hispanic too) and putting in a plug for more funds for more guards.
As for you people talking about a Crossing Guard Union... Crossing Guards are members of the City Police Union.
Blind spots are not a myth.
Mimi. click on the follow up story. She never even showed up that day.
More from NBCNYnews.com
12 blocks to school, a 9 yr old and a 6 yr old, they should have had an adult with them, all the kids that are missing or killed and these 2 little boys walking by themselves. The parents should take part of the blame I don't care how many times they had done it by themselves.
I bet these kids were late for school, why else would the guard leave?
Green light, kids walk across, @!$%# happens.
No parents, kids walking 12 blocks, @!$%# happens.
Where were the parents?
That crossing Guard should be "Screwed", some jobs (Public Safety) you JUST CAN"T take a break from. The police in the vid said, the driver had the right of way, here where I live, the Pedestrians ALWAY's have the right of way. IF that crossing guard had been at her post, doing her "JOB", (SAFETY OFFICER) that poor little boy would still be alive. Responsibility needs to be placed on the one really responsible here, the crossing guard. If the guard is going to take breaks while kids are going to school, then why the hell are they there to protect the kids, if they aren't going to be there?
Look at the bigger picture people. This boy was walking with his 9 year old brother that should, at that age, have some common sense. Additionally, they lived 12 blocks from the school which means they had to walk 11 blocks crossing many streets before they came to intersection where the crossing guard was posted.
No doubt they'll blame the crossing guard and the truck driver but it was negligence on the part of the parents to allow them to walk that distance by themselves. It was only providence this kid was struck where he was. It could have happened at any intersection along his route to the school.
it's for the children's safety, except when a public employee screws up. it seems that watching children is a low priority in this instance!
Harold of the Rocks,
Most people have come to learn they just have to ignore your posts since you say the weirdest things. The boy was hit by the back tire of a long tractor trailer. It wasnt the driver's fault. It was the public employee who decided she had to take a break within 20 minutes of her shift as school was about to start. Dont try to blame the productive members of society for what the lazy leeches do. (And no, Im not saying all crossing guards, or even most are lazy leeches, but this woman obviously just cared about the pay check).
Are my posts invisible today?
The CROSSING GUARD ADMITS LYING ABOUT THE BREAK.
She never even made it to work that morning. She did clock in though.
There is no such thing as an "accident" in todays society...someone is ALWAYS to blame...many times the wrong person is blamed...it is probably common in NY for kids to walk to school...if the guard was suppose to be there at 7:30 then she should not have needed a break by 7:58 when the kids was hit...but who knows, maybe she had explosive diarrhea (NOT being sarcastic)...i doubt we have all the facts from this newspaper article so i'm not gonna give my opinion...i do agree with the truck drive being cited, but he shouldn't be charged with any type of homocide...on his part it was an accident
Jasper.......... are my posts invisible?
Can none of you see the words I'm writing.
She admits she lied about the break. She never made it to work.
Unions working their magic once again...........
Creek Dog said:
Are you kidding??!! Not entitled to a break? What is she supposed to do - pee in her pants? And sorry, but being a crossing guard doesn't mean no break while at work. Some positions are several hours or all day. It's cold out. Your mentality is why unions were formed in the first place!
If you want to question where the responsibility is, your question should be: Where the hell are the parents? Really, letting a 6 and 9 year old walk to school alone? In Harlem, NY?
As Blutowski 0.0 keeps trying to tell everyone and no one pays any attention, the crossing guard never even showed up for her post. She lied about taking a break.
Even if she HAD showed up, she would have been there at 7:30 and the child was killed at 7:58, meaning she would have been on the job only 28 minutes before needing to take her break, which she claimed she went home to do.
However, SHE NEVER EVEN SHOWED UP FOR WORK AND LIED ABOUT IT, CLOCKING IN AND CLAIMING TO HAVE BEEN THERE.
For the people pissing and moaning about how easy the crossing guard job is and why she'd need a break, the guards around here are all-volunteer, no pay, and the drivers for the most part are extremely rude when the guards are just trying to keep the kids safe. Every driver seems to have that "the guards should stop traffic after them, how dare they make me late for work" mentality.
Yeah, just like any other unappreciated job, even CG's need a break.
WTF??? Crossing guard takes a break??/ They're on duty just a hour in AM one at noon and one in PM.
Total of three hours of work..are they French?
A traffic guard that works and hour before and after school should not need a break
I was wondering why a crossing guard would need a break. When I was in school the crossing guard was only on duty about 30 minutes before school started and 30 minutes after it ended. That being said there was no guarantee that the child still would not have been hit, since it seems the driver was not paying close enough attention to where he was going.
You also have to wonder why neither of the parents walked the children to school, twelve city blocks is a long way to walk all by themselves.
Bottom line, no 6 and 9 year old should be walking 12 New York city blocks alone. For all those wanting to blame the Crossing Guard, well, if she took a break when she wasn't supposed to, then fine, she was wrong. And the truck driver did not yield, and unfortunately, may not have seen the little kid. So he will have to be responsible for that.
But I feel the parents are ultimately the most responsible as if they were doing THEIR job, their son would be alive. How they could let their kids walk this distance alone is beyond me. Way too young.
How sad,,,:(. why in the world would anybody let kids that young walk 12 blocks to school in that hell hole of an area of New York.I would just have to guess that his mom didn't work,and when his dad found out about what happened he stopped by the Mini Mart to clean up in the bathroom then ran to a lawyer.
From another commenter above::::
"""""The rest of the story...
The truck driver had a green light and was not speeding. He didn't even know he had struck the child. His back tire hit the boy and he returned when someone ran after him to tell him what had happened.
The crossing guard only works twenty hours per week and gets insurance and retirement benefits. This particular guard has been the subject of complaints by parents who say she is constantly on the phone and is never really working or paying attention.
She left without permission for her break and went home to use the bathroom, she said. She is supposed to report in when she takes a break during the hours when children are crossing for school.
By the way, her shift started at 7:30, and the child was struck at 7:58. So she worked 28 minutes before needing a break. And she had worked at the job for ten years. When is the last time a ten year employee of a Union was suspended for thirty days WITHOUT pay when an incident was NOT clearly their fault?"""""""""""""""""""
I suspected this was a union worker when I heard the word "break". Crossing guard schedules used to be 2 hours in am, little over an hour at noon (if lunch or kindergarten activity) and 2 hours pm. Most private industry requires 2 hours on the job before breaks. It is typical of unions to let the employee do as they please for their convenience, not the taxpayers' convenience. Union employees work for the union, not the taxpayers who pay their wages....and rarely accountatble for their actions...bet she keeps her job and her full pension and perks!
We need National Right to Work and abolish public unions!
"HOPEFUL AMERICAN", well said.
My siblings and I use to walk about 10-12 blocks to and from our elementary school...our mom did not have a car and our dad was at work. For us, it was about a mile walk each way, and we all grew up healthy. City block lengths vary greatly, so 12 blocks is not necessarily too far for a six year old to walk.
Regardless, people should not be blaming the victim(s). These parents had every right to have their children walk to school, whether that was their choice, or was of necessity due to circumstances. I question the actions of the crossing guard. My experience is that the time period where children need to be crossed on busy streets during their walk to school is relatively short..most likely less than an hour that kids would be crossing at that location on their way to school, so I am not sure why a break would be required for the crossing guard during that short time period of children walking to school and needing to be crossed at that location, near school. If we were talking three or four continuous hours of crossing kids...maybe...but I do not think that is the case.
Ultimately, the truck driver is most at fault. Obviously he wasn't being cautious at the crosswalk which was reportedly close to the elementary school...in the morning while kids are in route to school. Not sure what he was thinking. Tragic situation for all, and my heart goes out to the family and friends who lost this little one so unnecessarily.
@wavesofgrain...
I just read your comment after posting this...just as I thought...thank you for putting light on the true problem that contributed to this tragedy.
Look, crossing guards are not on every corner. As a parent, you have to be the one responsible for your childrens safety. These parents made the choice to let their very young children walk to school unattended for 12 city blocks in Harlem, NY.
The story now seems to be that the truck driver did not hit the kid. The kid might have started walking across and was hit by the back tire during the turn. No truck driver of a big rig would be able to see that.
As for the crossing guard, if she did something she was not supposed to be doing, then she should be fired.
@Hopeful American, says...
Yes, they are assigned to the busiest intersections...with good reason. It is too difficult for young children to cross those busy intersections by themselves. When I was young, there were two different intersections on my 12 block walk to school that had crossing guards to keep the kids safe. The rest of the streets we crossed were not busy, and we had no problem crossing them by ourselves. If it was unreasonable for parents to allow their elementary school children walk to school, why do we have crossing guards at all?
Concerning the truck driver who hit this child, I feel very sorry for him. However, it was not the child's fault that he was hit while walking in the cross walk. Pedestrians have the right of way, and this driver should have been extra cautious at a school crossing while kids are on their way to school in the morning, and waited for all the kids to cross before turning the corner.
From what it sounds like is that the truck did not hit the kid, they kid may have walk into the path of a turning truck - the back wheels. If that is the case, the driver would not be at fault. But I doubt that would help him feel any better.
Ultimately the parents chose to let very young children walk this long distance to school alone and unattented. I blame them and their neglect - 6 and 9 is just ridiculously young for that distance in this area.
The crossing guards are there as a courtesy and a minimal safeguard.
What a horrific thing to happen to that poor child.As a mother I would be beside myself and wouldn't know how to handle this. I understand most workers need breaks when working normal scheduled shifts. But how early do crossing guards actually start? Since the schools don't open before 0700 for children and most are in session by 0900. So she doesn't really have much of a need for a break here folks.She failed to do the one vital role the school and community expected her to provide.
Then there is the driver of that truck, what on earth happened to thinking, looking and making sure the way is clear? This just makes me sick to my stomach, that TWO people failed to act responsibly and this little boy has paid the price.I sure hope his family will find strength to get through this. The crossing guard should be let go in my opinion.
I agree. Most ppl I know wouldn't get a break for 2 hours of work.
for some time, after i was a kid going to school, the crossgaurds were able to take a break. most had a chair they placed at the walk intersection, or a vehical within 20'ft... they took a break on the chair when time allowed, and children NEVER EVER crossed an intersection without one helping them across! they dressed for the weather, freezing b*lls cold, thunderstorm, hot weather, it didnt matter... these are TRUSTED SERVANTS of the community.
The truck driver may or may not be screwed, thats up to the investigators. people like to think in crosswalk is automatic guilt, yet other factors are involved, taken into consideration, and looked into. this isnt Iran people, there is still a logical amount of consideration into everything we are liable for. if you think there is little to no difference from a honda civic, and a semi trailer, you are stupid. This is why there are cross walk gaurds at busy intersections nearby schools, and some used to be, and still are some who are voulenteers.
I agree to a point that the crossing guard was wrong but they need to take a look at the rules and change them. The crossing guard is allowed to take a break, the only thing she did irresponsibly was not log it in her book; so why should she be fired?
Who would allow their child to walk 12 blocks without supervision? I think the parents may also feel a little guilty or at least they should. I wouldn't allow my 11 yr old to walk 3 or 4 blocks to the bus or school in the world we live in. We shouldn't be gambling with their lives and think they are probably safe.
Some parents work and can't walk their kids to school. The 6yo was walking with his older brother and parents can feel it's okay for kids to walk without an adult as long as kids stick together and there are crossing guards every so often. I don't think a crossing guard should get any breaks for the short period of time they are working and due to the serious nature of their responsibility to the children's safety. As a babysitter from 12yo and up, I never took a break during the hours I was watching children, and crossing guards are adults usually working no more than 2 hours at a time. It's a tragedy the whole way around.
Good morning Windy...
Haven't seen you for a little while. Take care and have a good day...
CD
A mother who works.
If you notice, most crossing guards are older people, some probably retired, and they are on their feet for a couple, three hours in all kinds of weather. No one could actually make a living off of being a crossing guard, hence it usually appeals only to older people. And older persons don't have the stamina they once had. And probably need a bathroom break after a few hours in the cold, and a moment to get off their feet.
No doubt this tragic accident would have happened even IF the guard had been in the street, since the truck failed to give right of way. Might have killed the guard too or injured him/her.
A couple of observations:
1) Nothing in the article says anything about the parents working. In fact the article says it was unclear as to where the parents were when it happened.
2) In NYC 12 blocks does not make a mile. Depends on how many of those are AVE's and how many are ST's. Look up the area on mapquest.
3) What's wrong with kids walking to school? Given there is a need for a crossing guard in the 1st place that says there are a lot of kids walking.
She should have just pooed herself.
One report stated that the rear wheels of the trailer struck the child as the truck was making a right turn at the intersection. That makes it seem that the cab of the truck had already passed the boys, and they started to cross, not realizing that the rear wheels of the truck would cut in much closer to the curb. If true, it was not the driver's fault.
Robert is right. A semi truck has to make a long right or left turn otherwise the rear wheels would go way into the sidewalk. Kids may have just not been looking for the second set of wheels on the trailer.
The thing that makes me angry is that people are wanting the truck driver to be punished more than he already is. Do you think he will be happy for the rest of his life knowing that he killed a child, even though it sounds like it was unintentially? And for anyone who has never driven a big rig, those things are very long, most of the trailers are at least 51 feet long not counting the truck cab and rear system that pulls the trailer. If the back tire stuck and killed the child, then the driver did not see the children, the children were not that close until they walked into the truck, and the driver probably used caution because he was turning right. Drivers look into their mirrors to make sure they are not going to hit another vehicle, a light pole, or any other object when they turn. By the time their back tire is rounding that right turn, they are working on keeping the front of the truck from hitting anything in front of them. The blame, if you want to blame anyone, is on the parents for letting that young boy walk with another child to school knowing that they have to cross streets. Actually, the blame should be one the 9 year old. He has probably walked those streets for several years going to school, knows the way traffic is, and he let his little brother walk into the back tire of a big rig getting hisself killed. Sorry that the child had to die, but let this be a lesson to people to wake up, take better care of their children, and stop trying to blame others for your own mistakes that end in accidents like this one. As for the crossing guard, she failed to be where she was supposed to be. She needs to be replaced and someone who will do the job correctly should be there. If she had been at her post, the driver would not have made the turn until she allowed it, or she would have been on the sidewalk stopping the children from walking out into the street.
No. She is REQUIRED to report in if she has to take a break. She was on the job 28 minutes and WENT HOME for her "break."
Everyone was at the wrong place at the wrong time...RIP little boy..
Correction to my earlier post:
She lied about being on a break. She never showed up for work at all, she just logged in and SAID she had been at work so she would get paid for it.
My heart goes out to the 9 year old brother who was with him when he was killed. My big brother didn't care much for me when he was nine, but those images will likely haunt him for the rest of his life. This is a very sad situation for all parties involved, may they each find some form of comfort.
The crossing guard should never be taking breaks for ANY reason when she's on duty, because of this very reason! So sad... and WOW I could NEVER be a reporter... those sub-human-arachnoids, shoving their microphones at the parents and asking how the brother is doing? How in the H*** do they THINK he's doing? he saw his brother get run over and killed. Sheesh.. show some compassion for once!!!
I once worked as a crossing guard and, boy, the work is exhausting. I have to stand there and hold a sign, and then, stand there and hold a sign. And if that wasn't hard enough I have to stand there and still hold the sign!
After about an hour of work I gave up and quit.....
Yes, schools across the nation should make it mandatory that crossing guards wear adult diapers so they can no longer use a need to go to the toilet as a lame excuse to take a "break". Also, if they get tired of standing, then issue them wheel chairs. Give them a cup holder with a quart of water and some snacks. Problem solved. Maybe that will prevent such awful instances from ever happening again.
Whatever happened to common sense, just watching what you eat and drink before heading out? Most mothers figured that out long ago,and having their children use the bathroom before trips in the car or special events where potty stops might be tricky. Just cut down folks, it's called self discipline. What goes in must come out. I know men have a clue surely. Just use your brain. We aren't talking hours and hours of intense labor. Geesh!
you're right speechless, they should just piss themselves and keep working, durrrrrrrrrr! maybe instead of going straight to outrage you should try to think logically about the situation. as for the brother, most people would say asking about his well being IS showing compassion.
wind dancer has the same bladder as sheldon cooper and knows exactly what time all bowel movements will occur apparently. unfortunately as you grow older, as this woman is 55, bladder control can become an issue and people get sick and can't control the times they need to go. how would you like someone judging you cause you left your post for a second cause you had diarrhea? i don't know if that's what happened but you're as informed as i am on the subject meaning you also don't know what happened.
Maybe they could put up a sign that says "Don't cross intersection unless guard is present". Let the kids wait a few minutes. If some of these people screaming the guard should never leave the post for ANY reason, then quit your job and become a crossing guard. Surely, if you can do a better job, then take the pay cut. This was a sad accident. Armchair quarterbacks are just that. I'm in my mid fifties. Go to the bathroom at 6:30am and probably again at 8:00am after a coffee or tea. That's how it can be.
I know, 'stuff' happens, and sometimes at the oddest and least convenient moments. We don't know if the guard had this problem or was just duckin' out for a dunkin' donut, but I can only assume it was all just a terrible series of unfortunate occurrences.
It was a risk the parents were willing to take. What an awful price to pay for gambling with your children's lives.
WorkerBee, you're a judgmental little thing, aren't you? This is NYC. Kids walk everywhere. They learn how to navigate the bus and subway system, too. The reason why there are crossing guards in the first place is so that kids can walk safely to school by themselves. Kids in NYC and other big cities are more streetwise than any kid from farm country or the suburbs. This kid was killed because, primarily, the idiot truck driver failed to yield the right of way and, second, an idiot crossing guard went AWOL 28 minutes into her shift.
If I could arrange it, I would dare you to tell these grieving parents that they gambled with their children's lives.
Right on Jenn.
most jurisdictions have two crossing guards at major intersections. i worked at mid sized police dept crossing guards were screened and trained pretty well. if it was single guard that was having a call of nature they got on the the radio and a police officer was dispatched to cover while they took their break.
never heard of taking break in the middle of a school crossing detail. real failure of leadership. maybe the mayor should pay more attention to safety then big drink cups
Oh Man, Thats Disturbing! Bless Him!
If nothing else, if those guards need to take breaks, there ought to be someone who is there to take over for those moments. Maybe they could hire someone to go around and give the guards breaks.. but it seems to me that they are on duty for such a short time, they shouldn't need to take any breaks.
If the job is that long where you need to take a break, then someone should replace you at that time. Otherwise the children should not cross the street. Otherwise why have them at all?
Hiring a person to be a 10 minute backup? The extra would have to be paid the same. To hire someone to give breaks, they would have to know when the other guards needed breaks. Is the city going to pay gas money, or is the city going to hire a driver to shuttle around the backup guard? Another paycheck for THAT person? Citys try to be cheap. Not trying to sound mean...but a city is gonna have to make those(possible)two paychecks sellable to the tax payers. Two people driving around that they MIGHT be needed.
That's just awful. My thoughts are definitely with the family, especially his brother. Hopefully he won't blame himself for this accident.
From my read of the story, it seems as though the crossing guard wasn't at fault. She was allowed to take the break, according to the official that was quoted. She didn't note it in her memo book, but would this tragedy have been averted if she had? I don't see how, assuming the memo book is just a record for later reference. I'll admit that I don't know much about crossing guard procedures though.
think about it: crossing guards are only on duty long enough for kids to get to school and then to get home. They should not be allowed to take breaks during that short time, UNLESS a designated person is there to take over. There is NO reason she should have been on a break during that time. She is as much at fault as the truck driver, who obviously wouldn't be able to see a small child from that huge truck.
speechless, when you gotta go, you gotta go. you don't know what the situation was but to say no one should ever take a break for any reason is dumb. if the truck driver can't see a small child then they shouldn't be driving the truck as they are operating it in an unsafe manner.
Speechless, if the driver "obviously wouldn't be able to see a small child from that huge truck," then he probably shouldn't be driving it through a school zone on a weekday morning, don't you agree? The fault would still be on him because it's his responsibility to operate his equipment safely. In this case, however, it was his back tires, so the kids may have stepped out in front of the tires intsead of him cutting in too close and hitting them. But you can't say it's not the drivers fault because his truck was too big for him!
If she went to the restroom, that makes it somewhat understandable. If she was getting coffee, smoking, texting, getting something to eat, or gabbing on her cell phone then there needs to be some civil and criminal blame placed on that crossing guard. After all, its her responsibility to ensure those kids cross safely for the short time school begins and ends. She should have made arrangements if she needed to be away from her appointed place of duty. She should be drug tested as well since her job is a public safety position.
If this were my child i would be bring civil suit agains t the crossing guard, the crossing guard system, the truck driver and his company. make people take note and maybe provide some justice for that poor young man and his family. God bless to them all.
ihate, this is exactly what's wrong with our country, let's sue. Everyone is sue happy. It was the truck drivers fault for not making sure the path was clear. It was a tragic accident. The parents may have to work, but some adult should have been with those children. A 9 year old isn't responsible enough to look after a 6 year old, and both of the children should have been taught to wait for an adult. If the crossing guard was on a bathroom break, the children could have waited a couple of minutes to have crossed the street until the guard returned. My condolences to the family.
A 9 year old isn't responsible enough to look after a 6 year old,
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I'm sorry, but I just can't agree with this. I walked to school, by myself, since I was 5 and in Kindergarten. The school recommended this to my mother. Yeah, it was the 70's. Long BEFORE all the stranger danger hype and Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, etc. A time when it was less safe for a child to be alone, than it is now.
Two years later my brother enter Kindergarten, we walked together. No one thought a thing about it. We walked to the local liquor store to buy candy too. We'd leave the house in the morning and not come home till dinner. Nothing was unusual about that. It happened.
There's a new fangled name for this, "free range children" (totally different than the gang/neglected children). www.freerangekids.com
It made us more independent. Today we suffocate our kids with attention and baby them to death. It's no wonder they turn out being the 'it's all about "ME", who can't deal when situations happen to them.
What happened to this kid is a tragedy. The crossing guard ought to be terminated, who needs a break when working for a few hours a day? They bring chairs to sit on when they are not crossing the kids.
However, the truck driver is 100% at fault for not paying attention to his surroundings as he was driving.
Angela, and how many major streets were you crossing?
Yes, parents today tend to overdo it, but there's no way that a 9 year old is old enough for this kind of job. Were the parents to leave a 6 year old with a 9 year old babysitter, odds are good that they'd be prosecuted if anything happened.
It's pretty clear that the parents screwed up here and are ultimately the ones to blame. Children that age are darn tough to see sometimes, especially if the driver wasn't paying attention or it was dark.
100%? Maybe, maybe not. Need to look ahead, to the left side, to the left rear, to the right side, to the right rear, and all the points in between - tough to do all at same time . Darting out from off the curb only takes a fraction of a second. More info is needed to judge this.
The first five paragraphs your comment - spot on!
Don't blame the truck driver for doing his job. He was supposed to be driving there, went right on a green light, and made the turn without hitting anything else. His back tire hit the child which means the child either stepped out into the pathway, or the tire went up on the curb and struck the child. Since the child was in the street, it seems that the child walked into the street and was struck. That is not the drivers fault. He can not control someone or something coming out into the pathway of his back tire when he has already covered about 40 feet of more of that area without any problem. Use your brain before you try to blame someone for something that was just a terrible accident that probably would not have happened if the guard was in place and/or the parents were with their children. If they left them at home in the care of the 9 year old and someone called the police, the parents would be in serious trouble. Why is letting them walk alone to school not up to the same standard since the children will face more potential "accidents" walking 12 blocks than while in their home watching tv and eating cereal and cookies?
If the children were in the cross walk and the light turned green, it IS the fault of the truck. I work in L.A. California, so we have a ton of people walking on foot and riding bikes. Here, if there's an accident, it is almost damn near impossible to be found not guilty if you hit one of them. I'm always aware of my surroundings. Unless someone/thing darts in front of me from in between cars. That wouldn't be my fault, or this truck driver, in that type of situation.
I'll admit, the article didn't give enough information for me to come to my 100% conclusion, so I'll retract that for now. But "gobalqueen", you don't have all the 'facts' either. Unless this article has been expanded, you ought to retract yours, as well. Nor do you have any clue what these kids parents were doing. I work, I don't have time to drop my kid at school, but I'm lucky my father did it for me. If he didn't then my son would have had to ride his bike, by himself, to school. That's life. What are YOU doing, sitting on your butt writing derogatory comments on the computer all day?
As far as how many busy streets I had to cross, two at my first school (k-1). However, when I went to my other school (2-5, I was 7,with my 5 year old brother in tow), I had to cross FIVE very very very busy streets with only the last one having a crossing guard (and I don't ever remember her ever sitting on the job, or taking a 'break'). In fact, I live next to an elementary school and a high school, that are catty corner next to one another, and none of the crossing guards have time to take any type of break.
Why should they be? This was the result of a careless driver. Who's to say the parents would have made any difference? Seems like an overly judgmental point.
Why should they be??? A 6 and 9 year old child allowed to walk 12 blocks in a hustling crazy city? That's what parenting is about, making sure your child is safe, no matter what! I know for a fact that my children will NOT walk one block with out me there or at least me keeping an eye on them. This is a crazy world full of crazy stories, that happen on a daily basis. Is the story tragic? Yes, absolutely, but lets let this tragic incident be a reminder to keep your children close by and protected . I wonder if howdy doody has ever been a crossing guard , or a truck driver?
I pray for the affected family. I also pray for the truck driver and the crossing guard (they have to live with what happened). I also pray for you howdy doody, pray that you dont have children and if you do, i pray that they are safe.
Our school district has had to make cut backs for lack of money. Bet you can't guess what area? Busing! More kids walk today then ever. What are working parents suppose to do? The before and after care at the schools cost money so does a sitter. How many adults do you know that only work a 6 hour shift? That is about how long the kids are in school.
Most parents do the best they can. Do you know this family? If not then you have no right to judge them.
And the same should be said for the crossing guard!! Just a tragic accident and hundreds like this happen daily
Absolute tragedy all round...deepest sympathy to the lads family and for the little soul lost...from across the Pacific....
My condolences to the family. I am sorry for your loss.
While this is a tragedy and one would wish this never happened, people are people and as the councilwoman said, sometimes they do take breaks for whatever reason (to go to the bathroom for example). The councilwoman said the guard was entitled to the break. Instead of Draconian comments like people should never be allowed to take breaks while at work, why not offer more constructive solutions like a minimum of two crossing guards per intersection, one on duty at all times. That would have taken care of the situation where one needs a break for whatever reason (maybe she had a sick stomach that morning that began after she started working). You cannot expect someone to stay crossing kids if they are having some sort of emergency of their own. Would you want them to experience a sudden bowel movement while standing on the corner waiting for kids? Sometimes it is uncontrollable and even if they are on duty for a short time, if anything, there should have been a system in which someone could take over, otherwise, why would the councilwoman have said they were entitled to a break in the first place. Writing that you are on a break in a paper log book was not going to do anything as far as stopping kids from crossing if no one was there so that fact is not necessarily pertinent as the may have intended to write as soon as they got back but by then, the tragedy occurred.
On a different note, perhaps a technological solution would be to develop some sort of robotic crossing guards. Not sure how that would work but there are already very good computer algorithms that monitor traffic and crowd movements... this could be used to stop traffic more effectively and this may be a viable solution. The robotic crossing guards do not have to be entirely autonomous but also have the ability to be controlled, over ridden, or even to transmit a message like stop to the kids by a human from a central command post monitoring the traffic cameras and intersections.
Why not make it the parent's responsibility to ensure their children get from point A to B safely, or it that too much common sense or too much added responsibility on the parents? Just saying.
JRS-619990
Part of the issue is that the crossing guard didn't write down in her records that she had taken her break. Which she was required to do.So she wasn't following the rules her company has laid down. Probably had something to do with her getting suspended.
It would appear the crossing guard, like most workers,should normally list what time she started her break. Then she would have listed the time she returned from break.By not listing a starting time until she returned, she could fill it in to look normal, even though she could have taken a longer break. No one would have been the wiser. Perhaps she knew the routine of children and expected no children about this time and had done this numerous times before. But these children were off their usual schedule.
So unfortunately, this little boy was killed. The time of death revealed the obvious fact she wasn't at her post. I have learned bad/dishonest habits will catch up with folks.The District has suspended her, which is a strong step to take for one simply not putting down a break was needed. They are keen to justify them after all. It would appear something else is going on.Perhaps others have been questioned when they saw her leave.This whole thing is simply awful and whatever role the crossing guard and driver have played, they must live with it.As will the poor child's family.It seems all too often it is the innocent who pay the price for the foolish choices of others.
On many college campuses, there are light systems placed within the pavement along the perimeters of heavily trodden crosswalks that flash when a pedestrian enters the crosswalk. (JMU in Harrisonburg is an example) These beacons are visible in all weather situations and would not be missed even from the higher vantage point of a semi-truck. This is one solution for communities whose population of children must cross busy intersections to arrive at school.
My condolences to the family. Such a tragedy.
@ Wind...
While noted that someone could write down shorter times than actually on break, with no one watching, they could just as easily write down that they left 10 minutes later than they did since they are just writing in a note book, not calling in to a supervisor or anyone.
The problem is not the notebook, but the rules of the company. For a crossing guard to be able to take a break with the only rule to write the break in a paper notebook will not address the real problem. The rules should instead make certain that someone is there to fill in for the crossing guard when they are on break. Otherwise, the rules actually create a situation everyday in which there is no crossing guard when kids are potentially crossing the street.
Writing in a notebook does not make the kids safe and not cross the street while the crossing guard is on break, the only thing that will do that is another crossing guard, yet the rules seemed to only require writing in a notebook when a break was taken but not require that someone take over when the break was taken. As such, the company is also at fault because the rules of the company do not require a crossing guard to be present at all times when kids are out, only that if the crossing guard is not there, for the crossing guard to note it in their paper notebook. The company is ensuring that the intersection is unguarded every day when breaks are taken and writing down when the break is taken will not make kids safer. No rules can account for when kids may or may not be there so they needed to have a replacement policy of when you take a break, another must be there, not just the rule to write down when a break was taken.
To just write in a notebook about a break without making sure someone is covering for you is ridiculous. It would be like a pilot of a plane taking a break causing the plane to crash when the only requirement of the pilot on taking a break would be to write down that he or she is on break in a notebook, when instead the requirements of a break should make sure that the copilot or autopilot can take over in addition to noting the time of the break.
You missed the point I was making.For the Council to suspend the crossing guard, something else must have been going on besides simply failing to write down her break time.Hence the reason I mentioned the idea that the time can be falsified if not noted.
However, if you look at the further news link you will see that the guard phoned in she had arrived, but in fact never did, remaining at home. Then changed her story to taking a break for an emergency, shortly after arriving, when it became clear, witnesses were interviewed confirming she had never been there. Now the police are investigating her.Integrity in little things leads to integrity in big things for all of us.
It is obvious writing down a time doesn't provide any protection for the children. And having two guards can be very helpful if one needs a break.My personal experience with enforcing the law, working for the government, tells me you don't get suspended for simply failing to note a break time in your paperwork. Especially when it is within the boundaries of your job and justified.
This crossing guard, who is a hired civilian worker with the police department, failed in her job. Reporting for work and staying at home, is falsifying documentation,making false statements, abandoning her post, dereliction of duty and tragically contributed to the death of a child.
I'm not understanding why there wasn't two crossing guards. In my town (and it's a tiny town) there are two crossing guards on the major street/intersection areas. They're strictly volunteer guards so it's not a matter of cost.
This might warrant looking into for the future. It's just sad that this tragedy had to happen.
Because you have to find money to pay for at least insurance if you want that and in general you have to find money to pay for their salary as well.
The taxpayers lately tend to be exceedingly cheap when it comes to funding things for people younger than retirement age. So, there you go.
Taxpayers tend to be a bit pissy about where their money goes when they see their government squandering it on useless things instead of education and their future. They'd rather pay themselves and line their pockets with tax payer money.
The crossing guard in our area only works at the most an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon....I know that my boss will not let me take a break with only an hour of work......what was this woman thinking......she should be held just as guilty as the truck driver.
Crossing guards in the city have to work for the duration of multiple schools with multiple start times (public and private, elementary and middle/Jr. High and maybe even High School). Since there are multiple schools involved, the assumption that the crossing guard only works for 1 - 2 hours is naive. Yes, the smaller towns have crossing guards that only work an hour or two, but you only have ONE SCHOOL to worry about... not multiple schools.
No, I do not live in NYC and have never lived in NYC, but I did live and work in Northern NJ for 18 months so the news we watched was NYC.
Wow, why all the hate on the crossing guard? The driver of the truck is the one that pulped this boy under his tires. He intentionally drove through a crosswalk without looking to see if it was occupied. The fault of this accident is fully on the driver. **You check the crosswalk, you check the sidewalks near the crosswalk for anyone who is stepping out into the street, THEN you push several thousand pounds of vehicle through that space.**
Look at it another way, if instead of someone driving a vehicle into a boy, what if someone on the sidewalk had "accidentally" shot (you know, because they didn't know it was loaded, didn't know it was pointed at someone, and didn't know they squeezed the trigger - an accident) this child? Would you all be up in arms against the crosswalk or the gun owner?
Killing someone is killing someone is killing someone. The driver was 100% in control of his vehicle and he used it to turn a 6 year old into lifeless jelly right in front of him.
Sure I toss 5% blame to the crossing guard for not being more attentive, I don't really understand what you need a break for other than the bathroom - how long are you on shift anyhow? I also toss 5% blame at the parents for not teaching their child the dangers of crossing the street (not an uncommon threat in the 21st century!). Finally I toss 5% blame at both the killed boy and the older brother, for not paying as close attention to their surroundings as they should have. But still, ultimately the driver was the one that murdered this child, the fault lies with him.
(barring the kid darting out from between cars or some other form of sneaking into the street before the driver could react, but this article doesn't read that way).
And I could make up useless and mindless scenarios all day long as well. Let's try some - crossing guard took a break to hit the crack pipe. Boy was dared by older bro to race with him in front of truck. Boy was too busy praying to notice surroundings.
I could go on and on, but without being an eye-witness, none of what I hypothesized means diddly squat. Same goes true for yours.
There's a good chance the truck driver would have more easily noticed the crossing guard. Typically they wear bright orange vests and carry a stop sign. Also they are usually bigger than the children.
Will,
It doesn't matter what the scenario is, the end result is a lethal accident resulting from a collision with heavy machinery. The driver is fully responsible for his vehicle, the only two possible scenario's are that the driver failed to see the child, or that the child was intentionally or unintentionally hidden from view until he was so close that the driver could not react.
Sure, there are a ton of modifiers you can tack on, but at the end of the day, if you are driving, you better pay close attention to whats going on in front of your vehicle. Your life and the lives of everyone around you are in your hands every second you are driving. Personal responsibility is the only path to civilization.
RM Fields,
Absolutely, the driver would also be more likely to notice a man on fire shooting flare guns into the air. But that doesn't excuse the fact that he struck a human being in a crosswalk. Sure the child is harder to see, but if that driver cannot see a child on the road, do you really want him driving in YOUR neighborhood? Do you think the size of the human being he killed scales his responsibility? Is the death of a 6 year old more O.K. than the death of a larger 20 year old?
NoLiberty, perhaps you did not read the posting from someone in the area that stated that the back tire of the trailer stuck the child. The driver was already well ahead of the area the child was in when the child was struck. I'm sure that he (or she) did not see that child walk into the tire. The posting stated that the driver did not even realize that they had hit the child until someone chased them down. Then the driver stopped and came back to the scene. Don't think it was intentional or even carelessness on the driver's part, but as usual, they are the ones blamed.
It's unclear why the parents were not with the young boys as they walked to school, which is 12 blocks away from where they live.
Because people need to work for money to pay bills and stuff.
Both parents start work before 8 a.m.? I didn't read that in the article and stuff.
Even if they do start before 8 it's a parents responsibility to monitor, protect and make arrangements for their children. they don't have a neighbor, family member or sitter? before school care? 9 and 6 are entirely to young and innocent to be left to fend for themselves plain and simple! I would never put my kids safety into the hands of public servants alone!! working or lack of money is never an excuse for poor parenting!!!!
9 and 6 are entirely to young and innocent to be left to fend for themselves plain and simple!
I walked to and from school from age 7 on up. I'd walk my little sister to kindergarten and then myself to the elementary school.
Unfortunately having children still doesn't require any kind of education, as I had more education than both my parents put together when I graduated from college.
working or lack of money is never an excuse for poor parenting!
I'd also like to point out that if you aren't willing to pay for more crosswalk guards, you should sit down.
Family friend Maya Toure called Amar a "sweet boy," telling NBC 4 New York the boy loved school and "he prayed a lot."
Lets hope he prayed to the right god(s), it is obvious he did not pray to the turning god.
"IF THERE IS NO-ONE IN THE CROSSWALK" the children were obviously crossing WITH the light as the driver was turning ...... End of Conversation.
Don't even ATTEMPT to blame the Parents for not walking their children to school, how many people actually do these days.
Considering the percentage of how many people (to include children) in NYC (compared to other cities) get killed by vehicle and pedestrian-related accidents, YES I DO ATTEMPT to blame the Parents...blah blah blah.... playing the odds. How many say they watch their kids these days, but don't? These days, it is too easy to blame everyone for everything, since parenting is a part time job nowdays.
In my opinion it's the crossing guards fault, why would you need a break on a two hour job, this just shows how lazy some people are, maybe they should've hired an illegal alien to cross the kids.
Tractors have a huge blind spot in the front of the cab and to the right. Unfortunately the driver was making a right hand turn. It would be relevant to know the color of the lights and right of way at the time of the accident. I believe NY has a no fault pedestrian law so at least the driver's insurance is going to get creamed. Quick internet search says that 150-170 pedestrians or cyclists are killed in NYC so this is sad but it happens every other day on average. There really doesn't seem to be any gross negligence in regards to any one party but the pitchforks are going to come out against the driver and crossing guard.
Sorry for the child. But don't blame the stranger that's there to help.
But she didn't help - - she wasn't there.....
Neither were the parents.
"People have to take breaks,"
A crossing guard only works for one or two hours at a time. Why would she have to "take a break"? The only reasonable thing I can think of is that she had to use a toilet, but with a job like that where kids' lives depend on her, she ought to use adult diapers if she can't hold it that long.
homesick yank
Maybe they should ban auto's like they do guns...Dont forget to wear your diapers when someone knocks you out for that statement, you are going to need it when you wet your self..
It's because of the sequester that Unions now think they don't have to work. Under Obama's leadership working hard has anegative connotation.
This is not the fault of the crossing guard. Crossing guards are a supplemental warning device. The driver is at fault - end of story. Pedestrians always have the right of way and when you're in a school zone, you're supposed to be on alert for children and take extra care.
You obviously don't know anything about traffic law or roadway design. Pedestrians do not always have the right of way, in OR out of school zones...which is why you should not let your 9 year old walk your 6 year old to school. That is where the problem started!
The kids did have the right of way in this case. How many times have you stopped for a pedestrian who is crossing the street when you want to make a turn?
I live two blocks from a middle school and three blocks from a high school in the opposite direction. There are kids everywhere on my street in the AM and afterschool. I have to take one right turn to get out of my neighborhood and I always have to stop for the kids crossing the street I'm turning onto. It's just common sense. You can't mow down a pedestrian just because you have the green light. People are traffic too.
mutten - Why do YOU get to end the story? Egomaniac.
Tragic, for all involved, including the driver, as I like to assume he did not intend to run over anyone.