Municipal Crossing Guard Fatally Injured When Struck by a Motor Vehicle – Massachusetts

Massachusetts Case Report: 12MA10
Release Date: January 8, 2013
The following report is the product of our Cooperative State partner and is presented here in its original unedited form from the state. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the individual Cooperative State partner and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

SUMMARY

On May 23, 2012 a 71-year-old female municipal crossing guard (victim) was fatally injured when she was struck by a motor vehicle while assisting school children in crossing a roadway at an unsignalized pedestrian crosswalk. The victim stepped into the roadway crosswalk and was then struck by a pickup truck. The pickup truck traveled a few feet after striking the victim before coming to a complete stop. Multiple people placed calls for emergency medical services (EMS). EMS and local police arrived within minutes and transported the victim to a local hospital where she died later that same day.

Contributing factors identified in this investigation were that crosswalk markings were in poor condition and of the least visible type of marking and there were no traffic control devices present at the crosswalk location to warn motorists of the crosswalk location.

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