FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — Stop and yield -- that's the message from the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office.
Dozens of officers were out in force Thursday morning outside E.A. Jones Elementary School on Martin Lane giving out warnings and citations to drivers, as well as passing out flyers and raising awareness about crosswalk safety in a school zone.
Investigators said they decided to conduct the operation in this particular area after a parent recently contacted them saying she was almost hit by a car while walking her son to school.
"One is for enforcement, enforcement for the purposes safety of our children and parents walking their kids to school, and secondly awareness,” said Dustin Claborn, deputy chief investigator for the Fort Bend County DA’s Office.
Two years ago, Claborn says the district attorney’s office helped pass the 'Lisa Torry Smith Act,' also known as the 'Crosswalk Law,’ after a young Missouri City mom of two was killed by a driver while walking her son to school.
The new law holds a driver responsible for crashes leading to the death or injury of a person at a crosswalk in Texas, a law Claborn says many drivers still aren't fully aware of.
"Under the previous statute, drivers were required to yield to people and cyclists in a crosswalk, under the new statute, they are required to stop and yield,” he said.
It's resulted in Thursday’s operation at another school zone that parents claim is dangerous.
"Every day cars are just flying, like there are no kids,” said Ethlyn Garza, who walks her grandson to school every day.
Garza said the problem has been getting worse through the years.
"Cars need to slow down, if it was their children, I’m sure they would slow down also," said Garza.
78-year-old Robert Mercy is the school crossing guard. He also told us he was fed up.
"Well, at this particular location, I’m just about ready to give it up,” he said.
In the two years he's been walking kids and parents across this street, Robert said he's had too many close calls.
"I’ve had several confrontations with people, stopping them when they don't want to be stopped," said Mercy.
As for why he hasn't hung up his stop sign, here's what he had to say:
"I love being around people and being around kids."
Mercy also has a message for drivers in the area:
"Think about your kids, do you want someone to run one of your kids down, because they're being negligent?”
Investigators said a total of 18 people were pulled over and given citations or warnings during the 2-hour operation.
The district attorney’s office said they plan on conducting more operations in the future.