KEY POINTS

  • A crossing guard was struck and killed by a vehicle after he saved two students 
  • 88-year-old Bob Nill was killed after he pushed the kids away from the path of an incoming vehicle
  • Authorities are investigating whether the driver was speeding or how the crash occurred 

An 88-year-old crossing guard who saved two students from a deadly vehicular accident, was killed near a Kansas school early Tuesday.

Bob Nill was about to help two children, aged 7 and 11, cross the street going to Christ the King Catholic School when he yelled for them to stop as soon as he saw the incoming vehicle, Principal Cathy Fithian told Fox News.

Eyewitness told Nill's employer, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, that the crossing guard was struck by the vehicle after he pushed the students away from its path.

Car crash
A Minnesota man, Michael Campbell, described by friends as being “super drunk” crashed his car while speeding down a highway Sept. 17, 2017, leaving his girlfriend, Ria Patel, for dead, prosecutors say. In this photo, a 2012 Toyota Camry involved in a multiple car accident which killed two people, is seen in a picture released by the Louisiana State Police. Reuters

Police described the vehicle that killed Nill to be a black sedan and was headed east on Leavenworth Road.

Nill was struck shortly after 8:00 a.m. He was brought to KU Medical Center in critical condition and later died, the school said in a Facebook post.

“We teach our students at Christ the King to know that we are here to protect them and they need to listen. We're just so blessed that he was there,” Fithian said.

The principal added that Nill always put the safety of the children first. Some of the students, who called Nill “Mr. Bob,” even gave the crossing guard gifts for Valentine's Day.

“He always thought about the kids more than himself. We just want his family to know what a loving heart he had and the community to know what a blessing he was for our community,” Fithian added.

Authorities have yet to determine whether the driver was speeding or how the crash occurred.

No children were injured during the incident, while the driver of the car was also brought to a hospital. The crash is being investigated by the police's traffic unit, Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Officer Jonathon Westbrook told The Kansas City Star.

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