Girl, 9, dies after being struck by transit bus

Parents in Abbotsford are upset that no school crossing guard was posted at the busy intersection where a nine-year-old girl was hit and killed in a crosswalk by a transit bus.

The girl was on her way to school Friday morning and was hit while crossing five lanes of South Fraser Way at Hill-Tout Street. The girl attended Ten Broeck Elementary, a kindergarten to Grade 5 school on Abbotsford’s west side.

She was taken to hospital with critical injuries, but died shortly after arrival.

“A sad day,” said Rebecca Hernandez, who has two children enrolled at Ten Broeck Elementary.

“We need to rally together and get the district to provide crossing guards every single day.”

Crossing guards in the Abbotsford School District are provided by Abbotsford Community Services, a volunteer agency.

But in recent weeks, there’s often been nobody at the intersection, an inconsistency that had many parents concerned, even before the death, about letting their children walk to school unaccompanied.

The driver of the transit bus remained on scene and is co-operating with investigators.

In a statement, B.C. Transit president Manuel Achadinha said he’s “extremely saddened” about the fatal incident.

He said B.C. Transit will also conduct an internal investigation to determine if there are any additional measures that can be taken to prevent this type of incident from happening in the future.