Mourners gathered in a New York community on Friday afternoon to grieve the loss of a 5-year-old girl, struck and killed by a school bus only hours early.
The young victim had just been dropped off by a school bus near her Spring Valley home when she was hit, local authorities said. It happened around 10:30 a.m.
The heartbreaking scene played out on South Madison Avenue as first responders carefully removed the girl's body and investigators began their work to determine what happened.
A bus driver not connected to the incident stopped by the scene in the afternoon on his way to work, clearly shaken by what had happened.
"It could be my kids," Jeanmiou Hosty said.
Family and friends gathered at Satmar Shul around 2 p.m., including Elishiva Nasri, who lives below the young girl's family.
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"I woke up in the morning and I looked out the window and saw what was going on, and then I heard the crying and screaming," Nasri said. "It was very painful."
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The morning fatal school bus crash comes just weeks after a Jan. 22 bus crash that killed another young student. Both incidents are under investigation.