A seven-year-old girl has died after being struck by a school bus in Rockland County, according to police, in a loss that has shaken the community.
Authorities say the girl was hit on Blauvelt Road in Monsey at around 9 in the morning, drawing an emergency response to the scene.
An ambulance responded to a report of a child struck by the school bus, and Ramapo police then arrived at the location.
According to police, the child was pronounced dead at the scene, as first responders worked in front of a home along the road.
Investigators noted damage farther up the street, including trash cans knocked aside, and said it was not yet clear exactly what unfolded before the child was struck.
According to police, the girl was hit while crossing Blauvelt Road. Authorities said the bus involved was operated by Yeshiva Vitsnitz, as investigators pieced together the movements of the vehicle and the child in the moments before the crash.
Police said the 28-year-old male bus driver was screened for drugs and alcohol and showed no signs of impairment. As of the latest update he had not been charged, and the investigation into the fatal crash remained ongoing.
Blauvelt Road was closed in both directions for hours as the full investigation continued, and Ramapo police said the bus was being towed as part of that inquiry. A section of the road was reopened only after an organization cleaned the scene in keeping with religious beliefs.
Ramapo police officer William O'Connor, who identified the driver as a 28-year-old man from Monsey, said there was no suspected alcohol or drug involvement and that no criminal charges were being looked into at this time. He added that the girl and the driver had not been publicly named, and that a white Toyota found at the scene had been determined not to be involved in the crash.
Public records reviewed after the crash showed that the bus operator, Yeshiva Visnitz, which is based in Monsey, had undergone 76 bus inspections during the 2025 to 2026 state fiscal year, five of which had resulted in vehicles being placed out of service. Authorities did not say whether the bus involved in the crash had been among those flagged.
The loss weighed heavily on those who gathered near the scene. Witnesses said family members were physically shaken by the death, and that police had to restrain a man described as the girl's grandfather. A woman in the area offered her condolences and described the victim's mother as diligent with her children and cautious around school buses.
The crash marked the third deadly incident involving a vehicle and a child that police had reported in Ramapo this year. In January, a five-year-old boy died after being hit by a bus in New Square, and last month an eight-year-old girl died after being struck by a truck, a pattern that has alarmed the community.