Crossing guard struck by car

Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004 | 11:12 a.m.

An elementary school crossing guard was struck by a car and badly bruised Monday after an angry exchange with a driver outside a Las Vegas elementary school, police said.

The driver of the vehicle -- believed to be a white Ford Escort -- did not stop after the collision and witnesses were able to write down only part of the license plate number, Darnell Couthen, spokesman for Clark County School District Police, said.

The driver was described as a white man, 200 pounds and 5 feet 10 inches tall, Couthen said. Police were on the lookout for the driver and the car this morning, Couthen said.

The incident occurred at Jydstrup Elementary School, near the intersection of Jones Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, at 8:50 a.m. as students were arriving for class, Couthen said. The driver made an illegal turn in the school's driveway and the crossing guard approached the vehicle and told him to slow down, Couthen said.

"Words were exchanged" and the driver sped off, striking the crossing guard, Couthen said.

The case is being investigated as battery with a deadly weapon, Couthen said.

The guard, Susan Kollios, sustained minor injuries and was treated and released from University Medical Center late Monday, Helen Lawhon, coordinator of Metro's crossing guards, said.

"She wanted to go right back to work, but we told her take the day off," Lawhon said.

Kollios and her husband have been working as a crossing guards at the school since June 2003, Lawhon said.

Kollios violated Metro's policies by approaching the vehicle, Lawhon said. The driver was still on school district property, over which Metro has no jurisdiction in traffic matters, Lawhon said. Crossing guards are told to write down the license plate numbers of traffic offenders and not to attempt to direct traffic, Lawhon said.

This is the second time in as many months that a crossing guard has been injured on the job. In September a crossing guard was in a crosswalk when he was struck by a van outside Harmon Elementary School near the intersection of Flamingo Road and Nellis Boulevard.

The crossing guard was still in the hospital today with two rods and four pins in his left leg, Lawhon said.

School Police are asking anyone with information related to the incident to call (702) 799-5411.

Meanwhile a child was hit by a vehicle this morning on Martin Luther King Boulevard near Booker Elementary School, Metro Police said.

The incident occurred about 7:55 a.m. on Martin Luther King near Carey Avenue. The child is under the age of 10, police said. The child was taken to University Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries.

No further details were available.

Sun reporter Jen Lawson contributed to this story.