LAYTON, Utah — It's been nearly one year since crossing guard Steven Winn was hit and killed while working in a Layton intersection. Now, his family is hoping to bring awareness and celebrate all crossing guards in his honor.
Winn was just one crossing guard who put on the vest and headed out to the street.
“The natural transition was to be a crossing guard. It combined that very fatherly persona that he has with giving back to the people in his own neighborhood," said Winn's daughter, Jennifer Snowden.
On January 28, Winn was killed doing the job his family said he loved.
“He said, 'Love you, kiddo.’ That was the last thing that he said to me, and I flew back to Vegas thinking nothing of it," recalled Snowden of that day. “And when you lose a member of your family that way, you always think about the loss of a loved one, that you’ll be there to say goodbye, be surrounded by family, get the opportunity to say goodbye."
"When you don’t get that opportunity, there is nothing to even describe what that feels like.”
This year, Winn's family is taking that pain and shedding light on the dangerous job that people tend to overlook.
“How is it that we can have a National Hat Day and a National Donut Day, but we can’t have a consensus on when National Crossing Guard Day is?” Snowden asked.
Beloved Centerville crossing guard retires after more than 30 years:
What started as a social media post asking others to say thanks to their local crossing guard has turned into a petition to create a National Crossing Guard Day.
“I’m happy to honor and memorialize Steven Winn,” said Davis County crossing guard Traci Peterson. “That just hit me really hard, and last year seemed like a really tough year with a lot of school zone incidents.”
With the support of others, Snowden hopes to see people join her petition. But more importantly, she hopes people thank their crossing guards for keeping their communities safe.
“All they have is a stop sign and a reflective vest to do that," she said. "The fact that they are risking their personal safety every day to protect our kids, why can’t we have a consensus on a day to thank them?”
