Officer runs over 4-year-old while parking on school sidewalk, Missouri troopers say
Four-year-old Gabriella Curry was walking on the sidewalk outside of a Missouri high school when she was struck and killed by a police officer, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.
The officer, 27-year-old Andria Heese, was driving in a roundabout near the parking lot at Battle High School in Columbia when her car “exited the left side of the roadway,” the crash report states.
Heese was leaving the road “with the intention of parking on the sidewalk so that (she) could observe students loading onto the school buses,” a trooper wrote in the report. That was just before 4 p.m. Friday.
In a press release, Columbia Police confirmed that Heese is an officer with the department. She serves in the Community Outreach Unit and has worked with the department for five years.
Heese was in a marked patrol vehicle when the girl was struck, police said in the release. The crash report states the officer was driving an SUV.
After the SUV hit Gabriella — a pedestrian on the sidewalk — Heese, another Columbia police officer and school staff provided her “immediate medical care,” police said in the press release. Heese called for more help, and Columbia Fire and University Ambulance EMS responded to provide “advanced life support.”
The girl was taken to University Hospital Level One Trauma and died from crash-related injuries, the release states.
“I would ask everyone to please pray for the family and pray for the officer that was involved in this incident,” Acting Police Chief Jill Schlude said in the Jan. 4 release. “It was extremely tragic and a lot of people need prayers tonight.”
Columbia city spokesman Steve Sapp said Curry’s parents are bus drivers with Student Transportation of America, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported. She was riding in a bus that a parent was driving.
“For some reason, and we do not know the circumstances yet, at some point she exited the bus,” Sapp said, according to the newspaper. The incident happened in the bus-loading area at the school.
Missouri State Highway Patrol is running the investigation, police said. The department placed Heese on administrative leave.
On Saturday night, the area outside of the high school was filled with burning candles, stuffed animals, flowers and balloons, as seen in a photo posted to Facebook.
“Anyone can still go out to Battle (High School) to leave flowers, a note, a teddy bear or just to say a prayer,” Eileen Keeter posted to Facebook with the photo. Her bio says she works for Student Transportation of America.
“(Gabriella) was a bubble of sunshine loved everyone and gave the greatest high fives or biggest hugs when u saw her at work,” bus monitor Tammy Crabtree posted to Facebook. “Gabbie will be missed fly high angel girl and watch over your mom and dad and brother and sisters and rest of the family...”
This story was originally published January 6, 2019 at 10:58 AM.