Girl dies after being struck by car while entering school bus

LA FERIA - An 11-year-old girl died Tuesday after she was struck in front of her home by a car that failed to stop for a school bus she was about to board, Department of Public Safety spokesman Johnny Hernandez said.

The accident happened along Military Highway east of FM 506 in the Bluetown area south of La Feria.

Valerie Garcia was struck about 7:15 a.m. when a Mercury Grand Marquis failed to stop for the bus boarding signals, Hernandez said.

"The school bus had all the flashing red lights and everything on and activated," he said. "The (car) was travelling eastbound."

Officials said the girl was a student in the Santa Maria school district, but would not identify in which school she was enrolled.

The trooper said the girl was taken to Valley Baptist Medical Center where she died from her injuries.

Valerie's neighbor, Josie de Hoyos, described the scene in front of the girl's home on Tuesday morning.

"My mom heard (Valerie's) mom screaming and she went over to offer some help and saw her lying in the street with her daughter," said de Hoyos, who added her daughter is the same age as Valerie.

"We've been neighbors for quite a few years," she said. "So it hit a little too close to home. My daughter used to go over and play. That could've been one of my kids."

Hernandez said the driver of the Grand Marquis, whose name he would not release, faces a charge of criminal negligent homicide.