Leslie Richardson, a contracted crossing guard for the Fort Mill School District, filed a $1 million lawsuit on Sept. 17 after being struck while directing traffic in front of Catawba Ridge High School. The complaint names driver Nathan Pigford and the South Carolina Department of Transportation and says the crash caused "life-changing injuries." Richardson's attorneys say additional safety measures requested after the March 2024 death of another crossing guard were not fully implemented, leaving crossing posts unsafe. The suit follows an earlier undisclosed wrongful-death settlement involving the district.
Fort Mill Crossing Guard Sues School District and State for $1M After 'Life-Changing' Injuries
Multiple crossing guards in the Fort Mill School District have been seriously injured in traffic crashes. One of them, Stanley Brucker, was killed in 2024. File/Staff
FORT MILL — Leslie Richardson, a contracted crossing guard for the Fort Mill School District, has filed a $1 million personal-injury lawsuit against the district, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and a motorist after being struck while directing traffic in front of Catawba Ridge High School, according to a complaint filed Sept. 17.
What Happened
The crash occurred in October 2024 when, authorities say, driver Nathan Pigford was traveling at a high rate of speed and struck a vehicle that had stopped in front of the school. That impact pushed the stopped vehicle into Richardson, who suffered what the lawsuit describes as "life-changing injuries."
Allegations and Defendants
The lawsuit names Pigford and SCDOT as defendants and asserts the school district bears responsibility for failing to ensure safe crossing posts. Richardson's attorneys — from the Anderson-based White, Davis & White law firm — contend that the state and the district were slow to adopt additional safety measures after the March 2024 death of another Fort Mill crossing guard, Stanley Brucker.
After Brucker's death, SCDOT did add signage and cleared brush at some school locations at the district's request. However, Richardson's attorneys say other requests, including lowering speed limits in all school zones, were not implemented. The complaint argues that because the state did not carry out all of the district's safety requests, school officials should have recognized that Richardson's crossing post remained unsafe.
Context
The filing follows a separate, undisclosed wrongful-death settlement reached by the district with the family of Stanley Brucker, who was 61 when he was struck and killed while directing traffic near Fort Mill Elementary School in March 2024.
The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages for Richardson's injuries and ongoing care. The case is pending; attorneys for the defendants have not issued public statements in response to the complaint in the materials reviewed.
Note: The complaint and settlement details referenced in this article were provided by Richardson's legal team and court filings; settlement terms for the earlier wrongful-death case were not disclosed.
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