Heather Luedke, a second-grade teacher at Iola Elementary School, was injured Thursday morning after being struck by a van in the school parking lot.
Iola police officers said Luedke was crossing a driving path en route to the school’s front entrance when she was hit by a van driven by Alexis Doolittle, who also works at the school.
Officers said glare from the sun may have played a role in the incident.
“It was a very unfortunate situation,” USD 257 Superintendent of Schools Stacey Fager said. “We’re glad EMS was at the scene right away, as well as the Iola Police Department.”
Luedke was taken via ambulance to Allen County Regional Hospital.
Citing privacy issues, Fager declined to say more than Luedke “was improving.”
Doolittle and a passenger in her van were both uninjured.
Fager noted the district’s protocol for getting students into and out of the school building remains in place.
“This incident wasn’t a part of that scenario,” Fager said.
