Holly Springs Cracking Down on Crosswalk Violators

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Last week, three children were hit or killed crossing the road. Police in Holly Springs said they want to make sure that doesn’t happen in their town.

Starting Sunday, police were not only looking for the usual traffic offenses, but they were also targeting crosswalks.

During weekdays, police direct the traffic outside Holly Ridge Middle School. Officers said they can't be at every crossing, and when they're not, there can be problems.

“The law is, you have to yield to the pedestrian if they’re in the crosswalk area,” said Holly Springs Police Chief John Herring.

That's not always happening. In some cases, even with two kids in the crosswalk, drivers keep going.

“That happens daily,” said seventh-grader Sheridan Keeler.

There have been some close calls.

“My heart was pounding kind of hard,” Sheridan said. “They kept going, and I was about 5 feet from the car.”

Holly Springs police said they have taken notice. They're launching a new effort to crackdown on the crosswalks all over town.

“We’ll station officers strategically where these crossings are,” Herring said. “[We’ll] monitor that and, if need be, we’ll take enforcement action for violators.”

“It probably bothers me more than just about anything else when a kid calls or says, ‘Mayor, I almost got hit yesterday. What are you going to do about it?’” Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears said.