‘It’s just bad right here’: Calls for crossing guard outside local school

SAN ANTONIO — A local father has seen enough.

Too many close calls outside his daughter’s school prompted him to take action.

He says cars aren’t stopping at a crosswalk, coming within inches of hitting children who are on their way home.

He believes the solution is to hire a crossing guard.

“Kids are almost getting hit,” said Jermaine Nollie, 46, whose 13-year-old daughter attends IDEA Mays.

We met Nollie outside IDEA Mays on the west side, just outside Loop 410 near Marbach.

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“Once these kids let out, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about,” he explained as we arrived.

At 3:50 on the dot, as children left for the day, Nollie told us to keep a close eye on a crosswalk at the intersection of Horal Dr. and Waters Edge Dr.

That intersection is where he meets his daughter and her cousins to pick them up.

“Many a times I had to jump out [in the crosswalk] and tell a car to stop,” said Nollie. “Then they want to get mad and speed off.”

We witnessed multiple cars rolling through the stop sign or stopping too far into the crosswalk. Many children had to go further into the street to cross safely.

Nollie’s 13-year-old daughter, Hailey, agrees with her father. Both believe a crossing guard is the solution.

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“Do you feel safe when you walk home from school?” we asked Hailey.

“No,” she replied. “We were walking [on the crosswalk] and the guy zoomed off and almost hit me and my cousins…It’s just bad right here.”

Taking matters into his own hands, Nollie picked up a volunteer application in the school’s office. He considered being a crossing guard himself.

He says he’s pleaded with school administrators to do something before someone gets hurt.

“Nobody wants to bury their child because they’ve been run over or that individual took off and their kid is lying down in the street dead,” said Nollie. “I wanna see all these kids make it home safely.”

We asked IDEA Public Schools about these concerns.

In a statement, they told us: “IDEA Public Schools is committed to the safety and well-being of our students and their families. We are working with city officials to secure a crosswalk outside of IDEA Mays. We encourage all parents and students to utilize the safe school drop off zones IDEA Mays has provided for families. We appreciate the patience of our parents and urge all drivers to exercise an overabundance of caution while in school zones to help ensure the safety of our children.”

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We also e-mailed San Antonio Police to see if they plan boost patrols around the school.

SAPD’s Public Information Office replied, “Our West SAFFE Unit is aware of the concerns in this area and they will be working to address them in the next days and weeks.”