Laguna Beach community rallies around crossing guard hospitalized after being hit by car

By MICHELE GILE

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    LAGUNA BEACH, California (KCAL) — The Laguna Beach community has come together to rally around a crossing guard who was injured on the job on Monday, when he was hit by a car and sent to the hospital.

Andy Belletti, a 66-year-old crossing guard with Thurston Middle School in Laguna Beach, has been hospitalized for two days after getting his leg broken in three places when the driver of an SUV ran into him moments after he helped a group of children across the street.

“I had yelled at Andy to watch out,” said his wife, Gerri Belletti, who also works as a crossing guard at the school.

Belletti was rushed to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Irvine, where he is still being kept for the injuries he suffered in the crash. He’s scheduled for surgery on Tuesday.

“These people up here really care about the children and their well-being, and it sounds like this man would lay down his life for the kids,” said Ron Smith, parent to one of the TMS students.

So far, families and community supporters have raised more than $10,000 for Belletti’s recovery.

“They know all of our students by name,” said TMS Principal Joseph Vidal. “Connect with each one of them every day and are the driving spirit to the start of the day for all of us.”

Students have been sending him videos and get well cards as they anticipate the return of their beloved crossing guard.

“We have several videos from the students to us, when my husband was watching them today — just tears rolling down his face,” Gerri Belletti said.

While there’s no exact timetable for his return, Belletti is anxiously awaiting the day when he and his wife can get back to their jobs as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, he sent a message to the students of Thurston, letting him know how much he misses them.

“Hi guys, this is Andy your crossing guard, I just want to take a moment and express my love and thanks and gratitude to all of you in the community,” he said. “To the kids, thank you so much. You’ve given me back so much more than I’ve ever given back to you and I can never express to you how much I appreciate it.”

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