Crossing guard dies saving kids from being hit near California school, family says

A crossing guard died saving children from getting hit by a car in front of a California school, his family said.

Ashley Dias, 45, of San Francisco, died after getting hit by an SUV his second day on the job as a crossing guard near Stanley Middle School, KRON4 reported.

Lafayette police confirmed the incident in a news release and said a child had minor injuries from the Wednesday accident and that Dias was taken to the hospital.

Dias’ parents said he worked in IT but would help out at the school often, KGO reported. They identified their son’s body at John Muir Hospital.

”The father of one of the kids came to me, a doctor at John Muir Hospital, and he said ‘if it wasn’t for your son, my daughter would be dead,’” Gloria said, according to the station. “He died a hero, but he’ll never come back to us, he’s gone.”

Gloria told the San Francisco Chronicle that a parent who saw the crash texted her to say that she saw Dias “rush to a group of students who were barely able to get out of the way and saw him push the student towards the sidewalk and just out of reach from the car.”

“I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised. I knew this day was going to come because everybody is speeding here,” said Stephanie Levine, a resident of Lafayette, CBS SF reported.

McClatchy News didn’t immediately receive a response from Stanley Middle School for a request to comment.

This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Crossing guard dies saving kids from being hit near California school, family says."