NYPD posthumously promotes crossing guard who was struck and killed on the job in Queens
NEW YORK -- A New York City school crossing guard who was killed when she was struck while on duty in Queens was posthumously promoted Thursday.
CBS New York's Natalie Duddridge reports the NYPD is also changing their policies to make crossing guards jobs safer.
Emotions still raw, Krystyna Naprawa's daughter and son accepted an award honoring their mother's posthumous promotion to Community Coordinator, marking five months since she was killed on the job
Police say 63-year-old Naprawa was in the crosswalk at Woodhaven Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue when she was hit by a dump truck. The driver stayed on the scene and was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and exercise due care.
"She was a wonderful woman. She was very dedicated when it comes to her job. She loved the kids ... She called out sick and she said, 'Can you please put somebody in my post? Because it's a very busy intersection and I don't want nothing to happen to my babies. Please protect them,'" school crossing guard Rose Charles said.
To make school crossing guards' jobs safer, the NYPD says it is implementing critical reforms.
"To increase visibility and effectiveness, school crossing guards will be equipped with a new reflective vests, whistles and 18-inch corrugated stop sign paddles," NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
The NYPD says classroom and field training is being increased to seven days.
"Part of this field training component will be intersection control, traffic safety device awareness," one NYPD official said.
The city currently employs 2,000 school crossing guards. The NYPD says from now on, they should never work alone; there will always be two at each post. That means 124 vacancies must be filled, a hiring process that will take at least six weeks.
"Today, you get to see that this is actually action that's behind their words," said Donald Nesbitt, executive vice president for Local 372, the crossing guards union.
He says he is happy the NYPD is building on Naprawa's legacy of service and commitment, ensuring increased safety for school children and school crossing guards themselves.