School Bus Hits, Kills First-Grader: 'We're Hurting'

At the end of the school day on the last day of school before winter break in Missouri's Jefferson County, tragedy for the family of one first-grader. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the little boy, who hasn't been identified, had just gotten off his school bus at around 3:30pm on Tuesday, near an intersection about 6 miles south of Festus, when the bus fatally struck him. It's not yet clear exactly what happened, but the driver stayed on the scene and is said to be cooperating with investigators, per KSDK.

The news outlet notes that the principal from Plattin Primary School, which the boy attended, and a nurse rushed to the accident scene when alerted, as did the boy's family members. KTVI reports the bus driver also remains unidentified. "This morning we were singing Christmas carols together," says Clint Johnston, superintendent for the Jefferson R-VII School District, per the Post-Dispatch. "This is a bad day. It's a bad day for our school, it's a bad day for our community. We're hurting." Johnston adds that grief counselors will be available at the school for students and community members who need assistance. (More bus crash stories.)