Dangerous Roads newsletter: School crossing guards on the front lines of safety

While other elementary school children wanted to be astronauts or NBA players when they grew up, my eldest son dreamed of being a different kind of hero: a crossing guard.

And who could blame him? Every day, my kid would see his school crossing guard put her body on the line to make sure he and his classmates could safely cross the street on their way to Valley Stream 13's Wheeler Avenue Elementary school in the morning, and back home in the afternoon. What’s more, she did it with a kind smile and a gracious "You’re welcome" every time she was thanked. It doesn’t get much more heroic than that.

Now that he’s a high school junior, my son’s career goals have shifted. But his — and my whole family’s — appreciation for our neighborhood crossing guards remains unending. And so it was especially distressing to learn the news of a 70-year-old Nassau crossing guard hospitalized after being struck last Thursday by a driver police said was high on drugs.

Moments after helping some schoolchildren cross a busy Sunrise Highway intersection in Merrick, John Miro was standing at the sidewalk when a Toyota pickup truck driven by Joshua Alvarado jumped the curb and plowed into him, police said.

Miro, of Massapequa, was left with broken ribs, a punctured lung, a fractured skull and brain bleeding, according to prosecutors. Alvarado pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree assault and other charges, and faces 2½ to 7 years in prison if convicted. As of Friday, Miro remained in critical condition.

"He put on his uniform and stepped into traffic to protect this community, as he has done countless mornings before," Kris Kalender, president of CSEA Local 830, the union that represents crossing guards and other Nassau employees, said of Miro at a Mineola news conference Friday.

Given the risks they take each day, it’s no surprise that tragedies like the one that befell Miro are far too common. Last year, The Associated Press and Cox Media Group compiled a database showing that 230 school crossing guards across 37 states and Washington, D.C., were struck by vehicles over the previous 10 years. Nearly three dozen of them died, making crossing guards and flaggers the fifth-deadliest job in the U.S., comparable to power line installers, according to the AP analysis.

In the battle against Long Island’s dangerous roads, crossing guards are soldiers on the front lines. While drivers and pedestrians typically prioritize keeping themselves out of harm’s way, crossing guards put themselves directly in its path. Often beginning their days at the crack of dawn, and braving all kinds of weather, crossing guards serve as human shields, protecting pedestrians and cyclists from multiton steel vehicles barreling toward them — all for a starting salary of $30 an hour, according to Nassau County police.

Like Miro — a former tugboat operator — many crossing guards are retirees, choosing to spend their golden years standing in the middle of traffic to help ensure that the youngest generation will one day become the oldest.

And if those kids are looking for a hero to look up to, they need look no further than the crosswalk outside their schools.

A 'Vision' for safety

After spending much of the last year trying to diagnose the many problems that contribute to Long Island’s dangerous roads, Newsday has shifted to looking for solutions to those problems. To that end, my colleague Peter Gill recently visited a Washington, D.C., suburb to learn about its "Vision Zero" initiative, which significantly brought down its rate of crashes since being put in place eight years ago. Check out Peter’s story, "Dangerous Roads: A Vision for Safety," and let us know what you think Long Island could learn from other cities at roads@newsday.com

Readers speak up

This reader got his junior driver’s license just after he turned 16. Now, at 91, he’s got three-quarters of a century’s worth of experience on the road, and plenty of wisdom to share on how to stay safe from vehicular traffic.

• Walk against traffic (facing vehicles, when a sidewalk isn’t available). In my village, much more than 50% walk with traffic so they have no chance to avoid being hit.
• Look both ways before crossing. People walking in parking lots often don't look at all and the drivers are busy looking for a parking space! A sure recipe for disaster.
• Cross the street in the crosswalks. More of a city rule, but it applies in the 'burbs also.
• Wear clothes at night that can be seen by drivers. So many joggers and walkers are dressed in black or dark clothes.

Thanks for letting me add to the discussion.

Fred Munch, Northport

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.