GILROY, Calif. (KRON) -- Heartbreaking new details are emerging after two parents were struck by a pickup truck near a Gilroy elementary school last week. A mother and father had just dropped off their child at Las Animas Elementary School Friday morning, according to the school district's superint endent. The parents were leaving the school by walking in a crosswalk at a stop sign in the intersection of Charles Lux Drive and Lopez Way when a large white pickup crashed into them, officials said. "The father died at the scene and the mother was airlifted to a local hospital," Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Anisha Munshi wrote. The mother later died, according to a Change.Org petition created by the victims' loved ones. "My cousin and his wife, cherished members of our family and neighborhood, were killed by a reckless driver in the crosswalk behind Las Animas Elementary School. This crosswalk, used daily by children, parents, and school staff, is a vital passageway," the petition states. Munshi said the parents have one child who is a Las Animas student, and another child who is a student at Rod Kelley Elementary School. Emergency responders wearing yellow suits are seen where two parents were struck in Gilroy on Jan. 16, 2026. "We are working to provide support to the children. Onsite counseling services are immediately available to students, families and staff at both schools," Munshi wrote. "I am deeply saddened for the family, our students, the broader community, and the driver." The pickup truck driver was a teenager who was detained by police and cooperated with the investigation, the Gilroy Police Department said. "Drugs, alcohol, and speed are not considered a factor in this tragic collision," GPD wrote. A pickup truck is towed from a deadly Gilroy accident scene on Jan. 16, 2026. So far, police have not revealed what caused the driver to run over the parents in a marked crosswalk. On Wednesday morning, neighbor Cindy Nunez volunteered as a crossing guard to help Las Animas Elementary School's young students and their parents stay safe. Nunez told KRON4, "My kids walk around here all the time. My neighbors, they all have babies with strollers. I feel really bad for that teenager too. I know it was an accident, and he obviously didn’t do it intentionally, it's just a very tragic accident." In the wake of the parents' deaths, a Change.org petition with nearly 2,000 signatures is calling on authorities to install flashing crosswalk lights. The petition writes, "Las Animas Elementary, located in the heart of a busy Gilroy neighborhood, serves hundreds of students and families. Studies show that illuminated crosswalks are 15 times more likely to be seen by oncoming drivers." ...read more read less