By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
A 9-year-old boy was crushed to death after he crawled under a moving school bus that had just dropped him off at his stop.
The Florida Highway Patrol, in a news release, said Orange County Public Schools bus stopped at a roundabout on Tuesday when Elyas Marshall Rodriguez, 9, got off.
The bus driver had begun driving again to continue through the roundabout after Elyas had gotten off.
As the driver was pulling away, according to highway patrol, Elyas, of Orlando, ran back and crawled underneath the bus.
The rear tire collided with the boy, killing him on the spot.
The highway patrol also said the tragic incident is still a very active traffic homicide investigation.
A spokesperson for the highway patrol told our source, NBC affiliate WESH, that the agency is still working to figure out why the boy crawled under the bus.
Elyas was a student at Lawton Chiles Elementary School.
The school’s superintendent, Maria Vazquez, in a statement on Tuesday, said:
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic death of one of our precious students who was involved in a bus accident late this afternoon.
“To lose a child so suddenly and tragically is extremely difficult especially for family and friends.”
She further stated that counselors will be available at district schools for students and staff members in need, adding that the district is cooperating with the highway patrol investigation.
The 54-year-old bus driver, as of when filing this report, had not been publicly identified.
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