Grade-one student hit and killed by school bus on last day of school
A school bus has struck and fatally killed a first-grader in eastern Missouri on the last day of classes before winter break.
The young boy, a student at Plattin Primary School, had exited the bus moments before he was hit, Fox2 News reported.
“This morning we were singing Christmas carols together,” said Clint Johnston, the superintendent of the Jefferson R-VII School District, as he choked up during a news conference.
“This is a bad day. A bad day for our school, a bad day for our community and we are hurting.”
Mr Johnston described what happened as a “terrible accident” and said that “we regret it”.
He said it was premature to try to describe what happened and said that an investigation was underway. He also declined to release the child’s name, saying he wanted to give the boy’s family time to notify all the extended relatives.
He said grief counsellors would be at the school on Wednesday, even though classes won’t be in session.
The school bus involved in a deadly crash that took the life of a first grader has just been towed away from the scene, south of Festus. @FOX2now pic.twitter.com/A0D7UXUHrj
— Zara Barker (@ZaraBarkertv) December 22, 2021
“Please keep our families and our community and our children in your thoughts and prayers,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough Christmas season for a lot of people. We’ll get through it. We’ll pull together, but this is not the way anyone wants to ever have to experience a holiday break, and we’re hurting.”
Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Scott Roettger told reporters the boy's parents were having a hard time grasping the news.
“Parents have been notified. As anyone can imagine, it’s difficult news to deal with, and certainly, it’s going to be hard for them in the future,” he said.
The crash happened near the town of Festus, which is about 48 kilometers south of St. Louis.
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