Los Banos High student struck by vehicle at school crosswalk light, police said

A Los Banos High School student was injured Monday when she was struck by a car on her way to school.

The collision was reported at 7:35 a.m. at the HAWK crosswalk signal in front of Mercey Springs Elementary School, Los Banos Police Cmdr. Jason Hedden said.

The teen student was on her way to Los Banos High School and it appeared she was trying to cross the street when she was struck by a car making a turn, according to a news release by the Los Banos Unified School District.

The release doesn’t indicate whether or not the student was in the crosswalk. Hedden couldn’t confirm if the student was in the crosswalk at the time of the collision.

School officials said the teenager was taken to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera. They also described the student as “alert and responsive.”

The crosswalk signal

The HAWK crosswalk signal was installed in 2017 by Caltrans after Los Banos school and city officials expressed concern over the safety of students crossing Mercey Springs Road.

“HAWK” stands for “High-Intensity Activated crossWalK beacon.”

To activate the crosswalk, pedestrians press a button to activate a flashing yellow light over the roadway. When the light turns to a solid yellow, cars are supposed to slow down and stop.

A solid red light then tells cars they must stop and can’t continue through the crosswalk. Then, a flashing red light indicates pedestrians are crossing.

The crossing is a major pedestrian route for Los Banos High students, school officials have said. The crosswalk signal was installed by Caltrans at Mercey Springs Road and Scripps Drive after several LBUSD school board members lobbied for any safe crosswalk option. While a major collision at the intersection hadn’t happened at the time, several board members feared such incidents.

“We’re really happy we have (the HAWK system) there,” said Anthony Parreira, president of the school board, adding the crosswalk signal has noticeably made the crosswalk safer. “But would we prefer to have a stoplight there? Most definitely.”

The crossing is controlled by Caltrans, which also recently installed a HAWK crosswalk signal at another major student road crossing in Los Banos across Pacheco Boulevard at 11th Street.

The crosswalk signal was a “stop-gap” measure until a full traffic signal could be placed at the intersection, Parreira said, adding the intersection was on a list of Caltrans project but it could take three to five years before the light could be installed.

In the wake of Monday’s incident, Parreira urged motorists to look for students crossing streets around any school.

“We need drivers to slow down and pay attention,” he said.

This story was originally published August 26, 2019 at 8:59 AM.