One Year After Ankeny Crossing Guard's Death, Students Brush Up on Safe Pedestrian Skills (Photos)

Students at Ankeny’s Terrace Elementary School got a chance Wednesday to make sure they’re doing everything possible to stay safe when walking to school.

Safe Kids Greater Des Moines visited the school yesterday for International Walk to School Day. The group spent the morning with Terrace students, helping them identify unsafe intersections, streets needing sidewalks and other dangerous areas where pedestrians have either been hit or nearly injured by a motor vehicle.

The event fell just past the first anniversary of the death of beloved district crossing guard Frank Luttrell, , while he worked at the First and School street intersection south of Terrace.

Terrace was the only school in the state of Iowa chosen for this year’s Safe Kids visit.

“We pick a school that’s experienced some sort of accident,” said Anne Garinger of Safe Kids Greater Des Moines and Blank Children’s Hospital. “In fact, this might be the most significant accident at any school we’ve partnered with.”

Laurin Cole of Ankeny was charged with running a red light after the truck he was driving struck Luttrell. Investigators used data from the air bags in Cole's truck to determine that his pickup was travelling at 33 mph five seconds before the accident and at 32 mph at one second before impact. West First Street has a speed limit of 35 mph.

The Safe Kids program is part of Safe Kids Worldwide, a program sponsored by FedEx which partners with schools across the nation on International Walk to School Day. This is the 13th year of the Des Moines-area program.

Last week, Safe Kids visited Terrace and gave a pedestrian safety presentation to all students, Garinger said. On Wednesday, a group of volunteers led students on pre-mapped walks through the surrounding neighborhoods to look for safety hazards on each route.

Once the students returned to the school, each one took a survey to list the hazards and rank the safety of nearby routes.

Students also were encouraged to utilize the skills they learned at last week’s assembly, although Garinger said Terrace students seemed to have a good handle on the basics.

“Being visible to drivers, wearing bright colored clothing and using crosswalks are all things kids can do,” Garinger said. “They have to know to always pay attention because cars aren’t always doing what they’re supposed to be, which is something we’ve really emphasized with this particular group of students.

With Halloween coming up, Garinger said now is a particularly crucial time for parents, kids and motorists to be aware of their surroundings.

"Drivers can get distracted or lazy, and we have to be especially careful and take responsibility for our safety," Garinger said.

See Ankeny Patch's coverage from last year's tragic accident.

Beloved School Crossing Guard Dies in Ankeny Accident

Parents React to Death of Ankeny Crossing Guard

Residents Honor the Memory of Ankeny Crossing Guard

Ankeny Police to Re-Enact Fatal Accident to Determine Cause

Ankeny Police Plan No Additional Charges in Crossing Guard Death; Phone Records Sought