‘6-year-old is gone’: Boy struck, killed by Ontario school bus picking up kids

York Regional Police say a six-year-old boy was struck and killed by a school bus picking up children for school in Kleinburg, Ont., on Wednesday morning.

Police said the incident happened at around 8 a.m. in a residential area near Pierre Berton Boulevard and Kleinburg Summit Way.

Const. James Dickson told reporters the child died at the scene.

Dickson said the school bus was in the area picking kids up for school, but it is unknown how many children were on the bus at the time.

The school bus driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, Dickson said.

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It is unclear how the child was struck by the bus. Images from the scene show forensics investigators examining the school bus.

“Obviously something like this is absolutely horrible. I haven’t interacted with the family but I can’t imagine what they’re going through,” Dickson said.

There is no word yet on what, if any, charges could be laid.

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“This is very, very sad,” one neighbour who lives in the area but did not witness the incident told Global News. “As a mother, I’ve been living here for the past five years and this has never happened before. This is heartbreaking for me.”

Another neighbour said his son takes the school bus every morning and he is concerned about the distance his child has to walk to catch the bus.

“It’s almost about half a kilometre,” the neighbour said. “Every day I am concerned, are they gonna make it to the school bus safely or not?”

“I feel bad about this family, the six-year-old is gone,” he added.

Investigators are appealing to anyone with information or footage of the area around the time of the incident to contact them at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7704. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

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