Driver, 21, charged after 'massive tragedy' outside Burlington, Ont. school

A driver has been charged a day after an eight-year-old girl was fatally struck by a vehicle after getting out of a car to attend a school concert in Burlington, Ont.

“Obviously, this is a massive tragedy and whole families will be impacted, our community is impacted by this and our officers as well,” Halton Regional Police Const. Ryan Anderson told reporters Thursday morning.

Becoming emotional at times, Anderson said a 21-year-old driver has now been charged with failing to remain at the scene of an accident after being taken into custody in the vicinity of the school. Police have not identified the person charged.

Police said the child was struck after she got out of her parent’s car in the school’s driveway and made her way to the east entrance doors. A white SUV exiting the lot struck the girl and then turned west onto Baldwin Street without stopping, police said.

The girl was rushed to McMaster Children’s Hospital, but did not survive.

Police were able to quickly locate the alleged driver of the vehicle with a witness tip about the license plate, and he has since been taken into custody.

Flowers and stuffed animals could be seen at a memorial outside Central Public School Thursday morning, and school officials said grief counsellors would be on-hand for the school community.

Colette Ruddock, Superintendent of Education for the Halton District School Board, said Thursday morning the board and the school are “heartbroken.”

“Our first priority this morning is the family and friends of the student involved and the students and staff of the school community,” Ruddock said.

She said the board’s Tragic Events Response Team is at the school today to provide support to staff and students and will remain there for as long as needed. The team includes child youth counsellors and social workers.

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward also released a statement about the girl’s death, calling it a “tragic incident.”

“I am absolutely heart-broken and devastated, and on behalf of my Council colleagues and the City of Burlington, we are sending our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family, loved ones and everyone impacted by this tragedy,” she said in a statement.

“We are a community in mourning. We stand together and our thoughts are with the family, the community, the school board, and the first responders who answered the call last night.”

Police said they continue to investigate the incident and are urging anyone with information to come forward.