Girl hit by school bus in south Wichita dies, officials say

An 8-year-old girl died Wednesday morning after being hit by a Derby school bus in front of her south Wichita home.

The accident was reported at 7:18 a.m. in the 3000 block of East Locust, in the Oaklawn neighborhood. The girl was unresponsive when first responders arrived and they began performing CPR on her, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Benjamin Blick said.

She died at the scene.

A couple in a nearby house said they were in their backyard when they heard a woman scream and a man yell when the accident occurred. A split in their privacy fence allowed them to see a woman banging on the bus.

“I can only imagine what the bus driver is feeling,” Oaklawn resident Jennifer Curtis said. “To hear the mother screaming ‘oh my god, oh my god,’ it just broke my heart.”

Blick said the girl, an elementary student in the Derby school district, was running to wait on her bus with her brother and ran between two cars and when she was hit.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of one of our students,” Derby superintendent Heather Bohaty said in a statement. “Students and staff will be supported by additional social workers from schools across our district.”

School began in Wichita-area districts this week.

This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 9:02 AM.