KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The manager of the crossing guard who died on duty last week is taking steps to protect other crossing guards.
A spokesman from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, said its parking control division manager - who oversees the safety/crossing guard program - will implement three measures after the death of Bob Nill on February 18.
First, the division manager will meet with all safety guards this week and make sure they have the opportunity to go through or review the existing training program.
Second, the division will buy new vests for crossing guards to wear on duty. The vests will be more florescent and have a design that makes them more visible than the current vests.
Third, the parking control division will work with the Unified Government’s traffic engineer to evaluate the school zone and crosswalk signage along Leavenworth Road near 54th Street, where Nill died. The traffic engineer will review existing conditions at both the site of the deadly incident and the surrounding area along Leavenworth Road.
The Unified Government had previously told 41 Action News its traffic engineer would review the intersection for any needed improvements.
Police said Nill, 88, died when a driver hit him with her car on Leavenworth Road outside Christ the King Elementary School.
The school’s principal said Nill saved the lives of two students as the car drove toward the crosswalk where Nill was working.
The Unified Government spends $122,205 annually to employ 28 safety/crossing guards, which it assigns to 24 schools.
A spokesman said Nill is the only crossing guard to die on duty in the program’s history.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department continues to investigate the crash.
As of now, officers have not arrested nor cited the driver who struck Nill. A spokesman said detectives spoke with the driver the day of the crash.
