Crosswalk Guard Killed; Driver Held

The car of an alleged drunk driver struck and killed a 67-year-old crossing guard who was escorting elementary school children on their way home in Whittier, authorities said Monday.

Juan Antonio Vela of Pomona was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly after the 2:55 p.m. incident in a crosswalk near Lake Marie Elementary School.

The driver, Patrick Robert McLaughlin, 43, of Anaheim, was captured by witnesses and held for authorities, who booked him at the Norwalk sheriff’s station on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving.

Investigators said Vela was displaying a stop sign and wearing an orange reflective vest while crossing the street to assist two girls waiting on the other side. About two dozen other children, mostly kindergartners, were nearby.

As McLaughlin approached, drivers in front of him had come to halt, allowing children to cross the street. McLaughlin, driving at about 50 m.p.h., apparently realized too late that traffic had stopped, and swerved out of the way, officials said. His car veered out of its lane and struck Vela, California Highway Patrol spokesman David Boyland said.

McLaughlin continued for a short distance before pulling into an industrial complex, authorities said.

Stella Marker, a board member of the school’s Parent Teacher Assn., was one of the witnesses who helped capture McLaughlin.

“He kept yelling, ‘I didn’t hit you, lady. I didn’t hit you,’ ” Marker recalled.

An open bottle of vodka was found in McLaughlin’s car, the CHP said.

“He definitely had been drinking,” Boyland said.

The children who witnessed the incident received counseling from school administrators.