Student Pedestrian Safety

On September 10th, 2021, tragedy struck Sierra Vista High School when a Vista student, Keith Young, was killed in a hit and run accident while walking home from Vista’s first home football game.  His death affected not only the students and the school, but the entire community as well.

Durango & Warm Springs, as well as Durango & Robindale, are a couple of the very busy streets surrounding Vista. Students often do not pay attention to their surroundings or use crosswalks, which could cause a major accident.

Officer Kettner, Vistas school police officer, gave advice and tips to the students on how to keep themselves safe when crossing these hectic roads.

“My first piece of advice here is to BE ALERT! Use all of your senses to be aware of your surroundings.” explained Kettner.

“Do not use your phone or anything else that would distract you while you are walking and especially when crossing roadways. Keep your eyes and head scanning for dangers.” continued Kettner.

“If you are listening to music, only use one earbud (preferably the ear furthest from traffic), so at least one ear can hear what is going on around you.” said Kettner.

Students often look at their phone right when they get a text which causes their focus to be taken away and increases the danger of them getting hurt.  With this being said, many students also listen to music quite frequently.  They simply do not realize that they do not just have to keep their eyes out for danger, but they also need to listen for cars and other things.

A time during the day students need to be more aware is during or after school clubs or activities.   “One, it’s oftentimes dark when these events end. Two, drivers are not expecting a lot of kids to be walking or crossing roads during these times so they are less careful.” stated Kettner.

Students love the after school activities that the school offers such as football games and dances but at this time the roads are the most dangerous. Even though drivers should always be looking out, their senses are dulled while passing a seemingly closed school because they assume there will be no students.

While it’s best for students to look out when walking or crossing the street, it is also important to pay attention to traffic flow.

“If anything looks odd whether it’s cars driving erratically or extremely fast, or even hugging the curb, identify areas to escape furthest from the roadway.” said Kettner.

These tips will help keep the students safe while walking to or from school; not many students know what to look out for to keep them safe from drivers.  If they look out for themselves and use Officer Kettner advice, getting home safer is a much higher chance than not.

After further investigation, Officer Kettner stated that the case is now being investigated by Metro.