Seventy one year old, Marie Stewart, was killed after a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority pickup truck struck her as she entered a crosswalk near George Keverian Elementary School. The risks crossing guards take each day to ensure street safety often go unnoticed.
In the past decade, two crossing guards have been struck and killed, and two others struck and injured in the Boston area. The Boston Police Department employs 198 crossing guards and the Department of Conservation and Recreation employ about 40.Crossing guards receive four hours of classroom training before they are taken to the street to test their ability to direct pedestrians across their specific intersection. Crossing the street is usually the most dangerous part of the trip to school for children. “There are lots and lots of parents who feel comfortable sending their child to school by foot or by bicycle because they know that a crossing guard is part of a child’s trip to school,” said the associate director of theNational Center for Safe Routes to School.
Unfortunately, crossing guards are not allowed to issue tickets to drivers who violate traffic laws. Many are paid a little more than minimum wage, which is not just compensation for the dangerous job that they perform.
Pulgini & Norton, LLP attorneys have handled workers’ compensation claims for over 25 years in and around Boston and its surrounding areas. If you or a family member has been injured at work and would like to seek legal assistance, please contact us at (781) 843-2200 or (888) 344-2046 or email us.
Cited Sources:
Death of an Everett crossing guard hits home with peers, boston.com, May 26, 2012