Are Children Safe Walking to School?

There have been multiple police reports in recent weeks, including in Commack, in which young children have been approached by suspicious drivers while on their way to school.

According to Commack School District Superintendent Donald James, on Feb. 14, a white man, described to be between 30 and 40 years old with dirty blonde hair, approached a Commack student who was walking on Colby Drive to his bus stop. The man was said to have been wearing box glasses and a light blue jacket and driving either a grey or silver vehicle.

The man reportedly waved at the boy, who was walking to school along Colby Drive. He then stopped his vehicle, opened the door and asked, “Hello little boy, do you need a ride?" 

The boy declined and the school and police were notified.

On the same day, a in a small maroon or red car on Washington Avenue near Hickory Street, according to a statement by the school district.

"The driver pulled the car alongside the student on the wrong side of the street and followed her a little bit then stopped a couple of feet in front of her. When the student turned towards her mother, the mother came running down the block and the car sped away running the stop sign. Police have been notified of the incident," the statement on the school's website reads.

Two weeks prior, a 9-year-old Hauppauge girl was approached by a man, described to be in his 40s, in a white Lexus within the Spartan Lane and Pinedale Road area, the district Superintendent Patricia Sullivan-Kriss announced Feb. 6.

Are you concerned about your child's safety while walking to school? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.