Parents React to Death of Ankeny Crossing Guard

Some Ankeny parents will be hugging their kids a little tighter for a while, and for that they can be thankful to the man who helped keep those children safe.

Franklyn “Frank” Luttrell, 78, of Ankeny, was working as a crossing guard near  this morning when, police said, he was struck by a vehicle driven by Laurin Cole of Ankeny.

Luttrell later died from his injuries at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.

“My first thought was it could have been the kids,” said Erin Ethington, an Ankeny resident whose son is a first-grader at Terrace. “It scares me to think it could have been (my son) walking across the street.”

Ethington drove her son to school this morning when she noticed what she called a “commotion.” She saw an ambulance and knew something had happened near the intersection of West First and School streets.

“I was hoping it was just a car accident, but I didn’t see any vehicles,” she said.

After she dropped off her son, someone told Ethington a crossing guard had been hit by a car. Ethington said she remembers Luttrell from the few times she walked her son to school.

“He was always very nice and talkative,” she said.

Ethington, who lives on Southwest Pleasant Street, also knew where Luttrell parked his car when he was on duty.

"At 9 a.m. I walked by and noticed his car still parked in its spot on the street," she said. "Something about that felt not right to me; I thought about it the rest of the day."

Jay Longnecker also has a first-grader at Terrace Elementary.

“That’s the same route I drop my son off at school every morning, so I know I’ve probably seen (Luttrell) every morning,” Longnecker said. “It’s hard to believe someone could say they didn’t see him there (in the road) – it’s real shocking and kind of scary.”

Although Longnecker was saddened by the news, he said it could have been much worse had there also been kids in the road.

“This just shows how careful you need to be while driving a car,” he said. “What you choose to do in a car can affect a number of people, young and old.

“It’s just scary to think how much worse things could have been.”

Ethington agreed, and is grateful Luttrell was there doing his job and protecting the kids.

“Adults stop and think, but kids sometimes just go,” she said. “When kids are around, people just need to be extra cautious.”