Crossing guard manager hits, kills teen near school bus stop

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a central Florida crossing guard supervisor’s vehicle has hit and killed a teen running across a street to catch a school bus.

A Polk County Sheriff’s Office news release says 17-year-old Kalen Kirk was heading to his bus Monday morning when the sheriff’s office employee hit the George Jenkins High School student. The release says Kirk was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Horstman says there is no crosswalk or school crossing at the intersection where the fatal accident occurred.

The spokeswoman says the supervisor works primarily from an office, and it was just a terrible coincidence that she happened to be driving through that intersection as the boy crossed. It was still dark, Horstman says, there’s no indication the supervisor was impaired or distracted. No citation has been issued.