Prosecutor explains why no charges filed in death of Fort Mill school crossing guard

No criminal charges will be filed against the driver who struck and killed a school crossing guard in Fort Mill last week after a review of the incident that was caught on video, a local prosecutor said Thursday

Stanley Brucker, 61, died March 21 after a vehicle struck him around 3 p.m. in front of the bus loop entrance to Fort Mill Elementary School and Fort Mill Middle School, authorities said. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries, but died there.

At the time, police said the driver of the vehicle had remained at the scene after the incident.

On Wednesday evening, Fort Mill police stated that the decision not to file charges was made after investigation by its traffic unit and with help from the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Senior solicitor Matthew Shelton said Thursday the investigation and footage from a school bus led to the decision not to file charges.

“This one is kind of unique because there was no question of fact,” Shelton said. “It was all on video.”

Law enforcement already met with Brucker’s family to explain the decision, Shelton said.

A bus was exiting the school at the entrance where Brucker worked, but hadn’t yet pulled out onto Springfield Parkway when Brucker was struck, Shelton said. The footage shows Brucker stopping traffic with a hand-held stop sign paddle in the southbound lane farthest from the school, Shelton said.

Footage from the bus then shows Brucker step into the nearer, northbound lane where he was hit prior to signaling for traffic coming in that direction to stop, Shelton said.

No children were in or standing beside the roadway, he said, and the footage doesn’t show any other cause to charge the driver.

“Speed was not a factor in the collision,” Shelton added.

He did not provide additional details about the incident.

Remembering the victim

After Brucker’s death, a niece set up a gofundme.com page to raise travel and hotel money for family to come together for a service. The goal was $7,500. It’s already raised almost $30,000.

The page describes a man soon to depart with his wife on a mission trip. It noted Brucker’s 11 children, stepchildren or grandchildren. It also makes a plea to drivers.

“PLEASE slow down in all school zones and respect the speed limit,” the page reads. “The brave adults who put their lives in danger protecting those children every day have families who love them.”

In February 2018, a crossing guard was injured after being struck by a vehicle in front of the two schools. Other non-deadly injuries to crossing guards occurred twice in 2021 in front of other local schools.

School district’s message to parents

Early Thursday, the Fort Mill School District sent and email and text message to parents related to crossing guards. It didn’t specify anything about last week’s incident.

“Due to unforeseen circumstance we will have limited crossing guards at school entrances and exits today,” read the message. “We are asking everyone to please use extra care when traveling in school zones today.”

The message noted there could be delays Thursday for car and bus riders, and that schools would be flexible with students who arrived last for class.

“We apologize for the situation and are working to address this issue as quickly as possible,” the message read.

The district was notified early Thursday by the Charlotte company that provides crossing guards, Cross Safe, that fewer guards would be available Thursday but didn’t say why, according to an email Thursday morning to The Herald from district spokesman Joe Burke.

The district reached out to Fort Mill and Tega Cay police for assistance and was able to get some officers in Tega Cay to help with traffic, Burke said. “We are still working on other options to help alleviate the issue today,” he said.

Fort Mill school entrances

Fort Mill elementary and middle schools share entrances. There are two entrances, about 1,000 feet from one another.

The northern entrance on Springfield Parkway is the main in-and-out point for car riders, visitors and most school functions. The southern entrance is uphill from the main one. It’s mostly used for buses. Teachers also use that entrance, as do athletics for the middle school.

School crossing guards don’t work for the school district. Cross Safe employs them. Of 20 schools in the district, 17 of them use Cross Safe guards.