Kindergarten Student and Mom Dead After Being Struck by Bus While Walking to School

The 6-year-old student and his mom were hit by a school bus as they were crossing the street in suburban New York, authorities said

A kindergarten student and his mother died after they were hit by a school bus in suburban New York, the school district said.

On Thursday, June 20, at about 8:30 a.m. local time, a mini-bus hit the 6-year-old boy and his mom as they were walking to Mamaroneck Avenue Elementary School in the village of Mamaroneck, N.Y.
according to the Associated Press and the Journal News.

Mamaroneck village police told the Journal News that the boy — whose identity has not been publicly released — was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities took his mother, a 43-year-old woman, to a local hospital where she later died, the school district confirmed to PEOPLE.

"Earlier today, we informed you of the tragic news that one of our MAS kindergarten students passed away after being struck by a vehicle while walking to school with his mother," the district said in a note to the school community, which was obtained by PEOPLE. "It is with a heavy heart that we now share that the child’s mother has also passed away as a result of her injuries."

"There is nothing more difficult for a community to experience than the loss of life, and we know that everyone in the Mamaroneck and Larchmont communities is heartbroken by this news," they wrote in another message.

The Journal News and News 12 Westchester reported that police said several parents and children were crossing the street while the bus was turning.

Police said that their initial investigation revealed the bus turned with a green light, and that the parents and children crossed the street with a walk sign.

No one on board the bus was injured, News 12 reported. The driver, who also has not been identified publicly, is cooperating with the ongoing investigation, authorities told the outlets. No charges have been announced.

According to The Journal News, a Royal Coach Lines bus was parked at the crash. The company, one of the largest contractors for schools in Westchester County, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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Authorities told News 12 that they were examining surveillance footage as a part of the investigation, and that initial reports indicated that the crash was a "tragic accident."

"We also know that the death of a child is particularly difficult for other children to process. At this time, we have informed our staff of this incredible loss, and social workers and psychologists are fully deployed at MAS," the school district said in a statement, adding that a crisis team and counselors would available on Friday for the school's students and staff, and that school would be dismissing students at its usual time.

"Our goal is to maintain as much normalcy for our students and staff as possible while also being thoughtful and respectful of needs and emotions," the district continued.

The Village of Mamaroneck Police Department did not immediately responded to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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Read the original article on People.