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Crossing guard, 71, dies
(by Megan Burrow - January 16, 2008)
On Dec. 21, just after 10:30 a.m. Robert B. Mahan, a 71-year-old resident of the Township of Washington, was found slumped over the wheel of his car, parked near Washington Elementary School where he worked as a crossing guard.
That morning, Mahan was stationed at his usual corner on Washington Avenue and Robinwood Road, a few blocks away from the school. Sgt. Gregg Hackbarth, one of the officers who responded to the scene, said a passing motorist had called the Police Department asking them to check on Mahan. The caller had noticed Mahan’s car in the parking lot, and thought it unusual that he was there so long after his morning shift.
Corporal A.J. Pecora was the first on the scene and discovered Mahan seated behind the wheel. Pecora could not detect a pulse and called for an ambulance. The officers performed CPR and used a defibrillator on Mahan, without success. Soon after, an ambulance and paramedics arrived and took Mahan to
Valley
Hospital , where he was pronounced dead.
Councilman Robert Schroeder lived across the street from Mahan and said he has known the family for over 30 years. He called Mahan, “a close family friend and neighbor, and a great friend to the community.”
Mahan leaves behind four adult children and 12 grandchildren. He served in the U.S. Army in during the Korean War and after the war, he began a career in accounting. For the past seven years, since his retirement, Mahan had worked as a school crossing guard.
His wife Angie works as a secretary in
Westwood
Regional
School District . In a phone interview, Angie said she and her husband had been residents of
Washington
Township for the past 37 years. Mahan had been active in the community, serving as a member of the ambulance corps in the late 1960s and early 1970s and for the past 25 years was very much involved in town baseball.
“Bob was a very positive person,” said Schroeder. “He never had anything negative to say and he was a real asset to the community. He will be missed.”
Megan Burrow's e-mail address is burrow@northjersey.com
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