Crossing guard sacrifices her life

[ok_cpu]

Dianna L. Sharp pushed or shielded an 8-year-old boy crossing the street, saving him as a dump truck passed through a school zone.

The 8-year-old boy lay in an intensive care unit bed last night, swathed in bandages, hooked to machines and comforted by relatives.

Second-grader Christian Engle, suffering broken bones and a concussion, hardly stirred. He held his mother's hand with his left hand, the good one. Much of his right side wasn't so fortunate.

The injuries were serious, but he was alive. He has Dianna L. Sharp to thank.

Sharp took her role as a Hilliard school crossing guard seriously.

As the crossing guard at Scioto-Darby Elementary School, she would usher her young charges safely across Scioto Darby Road each morning and again each afternoon, parents and neighbors said.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/04/11/crosswalk.ART_ART_04-11-08_A1_UE9T8QI.html?sid=101


Crossing guard dies saving student: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/04/11/dnt.ohio.crossing.guard.wbns



Hope this isn't a dupe. I searched and didn't find another post. Such a sad story.

[jimshoes]

1. Dianna L. Sharp,

You are a true life hero. RIP
My hat's off to you.

[TomInTib]

5. I will second that. nt

[DemocratInSoCal]

2. Question....

My thinking is that driving a Big Truck/SUV/Hummer, gives you more a feeling of power. Like you can pretty much roll over anything in your path.

Don't stand in my way, because my MONSTER EXTRA LONG CAB TRUCK is THREE TIMES BIGGER than your puny little car. Let me race on by at 80 mph, and don't try to slow me down.

[realisticphish]

4. meh

I learned to drive in a big truck, and frankly, it's a huge pain, especially in city driving.

I know some people can be assholes about it, but I was always worried about hitting other things, not confident in my ability to avoid injury.

Then again, I also don't speed through school zones.

[realisticphish]

3. Wow

I live in Columbus and I hadn't heard about it.

I've driven past Scioto-Darby quite a few times. Sad, yet heroic :(

[DemocratInSoCal]

6. All That, And The Kid Still Got Messed Up

A tragedy all the way around. You want to feel good about her saving the child, but you can't.

I'm sure the ASSHOLE in the tow truck will say he's sorry, BLAH BLAH BLAH. Perhaps he should have thought about that before obviously breaking the law by racing through a school zone crosswalk.

I'm so verrrrrrrrrry sorrrrrrrrrrry. What a waste some people in our society are. I hope he never holds a job again, although I'm sure he'll be back on the road in no time.

[InkAddict]

7. This is a very busy area right now with a lot of heavy equipment

zipping around to get the next load and push the next pile. Scioto-Darby intersects w/Hilliard-Rome Road aka Main aka Avery which is being widened and reconstructed. About two weeks ago, road construction was extended into Old Hilliard. Narrow lanes of torn up gravel-strewn roadway, barrels and barricades everywhere, heavy traffic at rush hours with HUGE dozers, gravel trucks, men in reflective vests, and vehicles who just can't wait for a clear shot at entering the main road. It's do-able, but it's a mess! Each day's commute through the area brings another surprise change-up in traffic pattern. One needs to be VERY alert because visibility has been compromised and driver's cannot entirely be sure how their vehicles will react on the make-do right-of-ways and drives. Where the construction ends, people go like bats, and the area has busy shopping areas on one side and MANY schools on the other, just out of the construction areas.

I'm so saddened by this tragic story in my neighborhood.

[InkAddict]

OMG, it happened just around the corner...

This area has heavy traffic at rush hours made worse by the on-going widening project on Hilliard-Rome aka Main aka Avery. There are barrels everywhere, a lot of heavy equipment zipping around to dump the next load of fill and HUGE dozers pushing it all around. Just about two weeks ago, road construction was extended into Old Hilliard. Traffic often is stopped and traffic patterns and road hazards (plates) often change from day to day. Visibility in the construction areas is compromised, and drivers can't often tell how their vehicles will react on the gravel-strewn and muddy right-of-ways into business and residential driveways and secondary streets.

Once drivers get out of the mess, they tend to hit the pedal, adjusting to regular pavement or to make up time. Some are quite busy yakking up a storm on their cells or are habituated into that scary zone of sameness where one doesn't remember passing that...Be careful out there!

I am so sad that this tragedy happened in my neigborhood. Healing to the family and friends of that brave lady and the injured children she guarded with her life.

[InkAddict]

8. OMG, it happened just around the corner...

This area has heavy traffic at rush hours made worse by the on-going widening project on Hilliard-Rome aka Main aka Avery. There are barrels everywhere, a lot of heavy equipment zipping around to dump the next load of fill and HUGE dozers pushing it all around. Just about two weeks ago, road construction was extended into Old Hilliard. Traffic often is stopped and traffic patterns and road hazards (plates) often change from day to day. Visibility in the construction areas is compromised, and drivers can't often tell how their vehicles will react on the gravel-strewn and muddy right-of-ways into business and residential driveways and secondary streets.

Once drivers get out of the mess, they tend to hit the pedal, adjusting to regular pavement or to make up time. Some are quite busy yakking up a storm on their cells or are habituated into that scary zone of sameness where one doesn't remember passing that...Be careful out there!

I am so sad that this tragedy happened in my neigborhood. Healing to the family and friends of that brave lady and the injured children she guarded with her life.

[kevinbgoode]

9. I think one issue which needs to be addressed is how seldom

school speed limits are enforced. I think many times there are accidents just waiting to happen because people don't slow down, don't pay attention to the yellow flashing lights or the signs that say "speed limit 20 mph when children are present" - and they rarely get a speeding ticket. We have three schools in one intersection location where I live, and I've noticed this repeatedly. . .you can see the children walking on the sidewalks, the cars turning into the school parking lots, the crossing guard on the corner. . .but cars still seem to drive at 30+ right up to the intersection and I never see anyone stopped or ticketed.

I would like to see some cities take a close and hard look at those speed laws and their enforcment. I would bet that on a given day, a police vehicle could issue lots of tickets because people just aren't paying attention.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

10. Sadly, people forget quick

It wasn't in a school zone, but we have a very dangerous blind crossing in my home town. A woman was killed back in 2002 crossing the street. They cracked down for awhile, but then it was forgotten. Now both drivers and pedestrians either speed or don't look respectively as they go through the area. There is a coffee shop right there, and the owners fought to have the police not ticket either speeders or people parking illegally making it more difficult to see around the curve. All over coffee. Ridiculous. I drive by the area slowly, and I've still almost hit two people either flinging their car door open without looking or just wandering into the road like they are at the beach.