PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — It's been almost a month since two young children were struck and killed by a driver as they crossed the street outside Riverdale Elementary School in Riverdale Park.
The driver had not been charged as of December 10. Prince George's County Police say the investigation into the crash is active and ongoing.
Both children were in the crosswalk when it happened, but there was no crossing guard present.
During a press conference, shortly after the death of the two children, Superintendent Millard House said they were working to ensure that full coverage of crossing guards are in place.
Chief Aziz pointed to a shortage of crossing guards in Prince George's County, but said a crossing guard may not have made a difference in this case.
"It has been a challenge to bring crossing guards on board. We are not where we need to be in terms of meeting that challenge," Aziz said.
He called on anyone who wants to make sure kids cross streets safely to apply to be a crossing guard.
Now, nearly a dozen Parent Teacher Organizations have teamed up to call for change.
Timothy Meyer is the President of the Mt. Rainier Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). They're a volunteer group of parents, guardians, and teachers of students.
He says his PTO along with nearly a dozen others have teamed up to demand change, to ultimately protect students trying to get to school.
They joined together to write a letter.
"As parent leaders within PGCPS, we all mourn the tragedy that occurred on November 20, 2023 at Riverdale Elementary. We are heartbroken for the two students whose lives were lost, their families, and the entire Riverdale community.
This tragedy was preventable and should never have happened. Parent leaders have spent years warning county officials about the dangers of unfilled crossing guard positions and a lack of pedestrian safety around our schools. We are tired of excuses, and this tragedy in Riverdale proves our kids can’t wait.
Doing everything possible to protect the safety of our students, teachers and staff is not a choice. It is the core responsibility of every leader in Prince George’s County. This failure of leadership must never happen again.
We call on the Prince George’s Police Department (PGPD) to take immediate action and fill all vacant crossing guard positions by January 1, 2024 or sooner. If more funding is required in order to offer the increased competitive pay and benefits needed to successfully fill these positions, we urge county officials to provide it.
- We call on the Prince George’s Police Department (PGPD) to take immediate action and fill all vacant crossing guard positions by January 1, 2024 or sooner. If more funding is required in order to offer the increased competitive pay and benefits needed to successfully fill these positions, we urge county officials to provide it.
- If PGPD cannot do this, we call on them to immediately coordinate with local governments and PGCPS to provide unspent funds so municipalities and PGCPS can recruit, hire and pay their own crossing guards on an emergency basis. Every school community is unique and specific needs may vary, but this crisis is universal: these positions must be filled now. This would allow the county and PGCPS to assign crossing guards to schools in unincorporated areas, while allowing local municipalities to fill guard positions with residents from and most invested in their own communities. Provide grants to local governments, draft MOUs, work out some other arrangement - but get the job done.
- Finally, we call on local, county and state leaders to explore and urgently act upon any additional ways to ensure safer routes to and from school. From infrastructure investments like crosswalks and traffic calming to increased funding for traffic enforcement around our schools to allowing municipalities the flexibility to implement deterrents like stop sign cameras, all options must be on the table to protect our children and keep our school zones safe.
No more excuses. No turf wars or passing blame between various departments or levels of government. Every child has the right to get to and from school safely – and our kids can’t wait."
"Every school in PG County, we want them to have crossing guards stationed there," said Kameka Harris.
Harris is the president of the Thomas S. Stone Elementary School PTO.
She says it's not just about crossing guards though. "We need to also increase education to our drivers or walkers everyone involved to make that journey from home to school and back are a safe one," said Harris.
Anyone looking to apply to be a crossing guard in Prince George's County can click here.