Police: Good Samaritans block driver trying to flee after hitting crossing guard

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A Clearwater police crossing guard was hospitalized Wednesday after being hit by a car. 

Police say the driver did not immediately stop, but other drivers blocked in his vehicle a short distance from the scene.

It happened around 4:30 in the afternoon near Belcher and Catalina Drive. Crossing guard Ernest Comeau, 78, was helping kids cross the street not far from Oak Grove Middle School when he was hit. 

The driver, 68-year-old Gregory Olson, of Clearwater, faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury, driving with a suspended license and failure to obey a traffic control device.

"I thought he was dead," said Kamil Bitar, a witness. "Somebody went to him and put something under his head and he got a little bit comfortable. Later on, he started moving his hands. I felt good after that. I thought, 'Thank God for that.'"

Comeau, police say, is being treated at Morton Plant Hospital. His injuries are considered non-life threatening. 

He’s been a crossing guard for three years.

Olson is expected to face a judge Thursday morning.

Booking image for Greg Olson