Beloved crossing guard killed by alleged drunk driver while helping kids cross the street in Louisiana

A beloved crossing defender was struck and killed by an allegedly impaired operator portion helping children transverse the thoroughfare successful her Louisiana parish Thursday, authorities said successful an announcement.

Katy Wells, who had served the Livingston Parish assemblage for implicit 40 years, died aft being struck by 64-year-old operator Darren Goudeau, according to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office.

She was helping children transverse the thoroughfare astatine astir 3:30 p.m. Thursday erstwhile Goudeau, traveling northbound connected Highway 16, struck and killed her, the sheriff's bureau said.

"What a tragic loss. She is specified a well-known idiosyncratic successful our community. So loved, truthful afloat of energy. She loved these kids, she loved what she is doing each azygous day. This is conscionable a tragic incident," Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said successful a video connected Facebook.

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64-year-old Darren Goudeau's mugshot. Goudeau was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide and second-offense DWI aft helium allegedly struck and killed Katy Wells, a beloved crossing defender successful Louisiana's Livingston Parish. 4/30/26. (Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office)

Ard besides revealed that Goudeau was charged with vehicular homicide and first-offense DWI. The first-offense DWI was aboriginal upgraded to a second-offense DWI erstwhile authorities discovered Goudeau had besides received a DWI successful 2022, Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office announced.

Wells was adored by her section community. Years of societal media posts from the Seventh Ward Elementary School wherever she worked highlighted her dedication to the assemblage and were packed with glowing comments from residents.

"Ms Katy has a bosom of golden and has been truthful adjuvant to maine from the archetypal twelvemonth I started teaching astatine Seventh Ward mode backmost successful 1990! She adjacent subbed for maine backmost past aft doing her postulation job! Thanks for each the laughs and friendship! She genuinely is 1 of a kind!" Gayla Jopling Johnson commented connected a 2019 video.

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"Katy has been 1 of my main anchors for galore years, particularly since my hubby passed away. My children and I emotion 'Ms. Katy,'" Kim Toothman Pickett besides added.

Children with backpacks transverse a thoroughfare guided by a crossing defender adjacent a yellowish schoolhouse autobus with its halt motion extended. (Getty Images)

While galore successful the assemblage mourned, immoderate called for action.

Courtney Hatcher, who lives crossed the thoroughfare from the school, warned that cars question mode excessively accelerated connected the road successful beforehand of the simple school.

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"We locomotion to school, truthful I’ve seen radical alert through. They’ve astir deed america earlier due to the fact that they’re not paying attraction oregon they’re going excessively accelerated oregon immoderate the lawsuit whitethorn be," Hatcher told WBRC.

She suggested the velocity bounds beryllium reduced to astatine slightest 45 mph.

A crossing defender helps successful crossing the thoroughfare successful Fountain Valley, Calif., connected Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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"It precise good could beryllium maine and my children due to the fact that we do, we locomotion each day, and I’m truthful thankful that it wasn’t, but I’m truthful atrocious for her and her family," she told the outlet.

Goudeau is being held connected a $102,000 bond, a spokesperson for Livingston Parish Detention Center told Fox News Digital.