NY girl, 5, hit and killed by school bus moments after it drops her off near home: report

A 5-year-old girl was reportedly struck and killed by a school bus moments after the driver dropped off near her home in New York City’s northern suburbs on Friday morning.

The heartbreaking incident took place around 11:15 a.m. on South Madison Avenue in the village of Spring Valley.

Police said the bus driver had picked up a group of children from a nearby yeshiva and let the 5-year-old off the bus near her home, reports said.

The bus driver, who didn’t see the girl before she was struck, was left distraught by the accident, witnesses told PIX 11.

“I can’t even imagine what the family is going through, even the bus driver,” one witness, who wished to remain anonymous, told the outlet.

Spring Valley resident Gene Focus questioned how the driver missed the child.

“People gotta watch out with these buses. Gotta see where the kids are going. I don’t even know how that happened, but how do you not see someone crossing the street?” Focus told CBS News.

Another local Brian DeMasi felt the accident should result in reduced speed limits.

“It’s unfortunate. They go too fast on this street, too fast. They don’t slow down,” DeMasi said.

A funeral was held for the young girl in the neighboring town of Monsey, a family friend of the slain girl told CBS.

It’s unclear what caused the crash, which remains under police investigation.

The fatal school bus crash follows a Jan. 22 bus crash that killed an 8-year-old boy who was walking home from his yeshiva in the village of New Square, also located in the town of Ramapo.