An 11-year-old boy died Thursday morning after being struck by a vehicle Thursday morning while crossing a Henry County road to board his school bus.
The boy, Thomas Conner Burch, stepped into the roadway at Tanger Boulevard and Locust Grove Griffin Road and was hit by a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction from the approaching bus, Gordy Wright, Georgia State Patrol spokesman, said Thursday.
Investigators believe Conner crossed into the path of a southbound Ford Windstar being driven by Claudia Inez McGahee, 57, and was hit around 7:40 a.m., Wright said. McGahee, of Locust Grove, stopped and called 911, according to Henry County police.
Conner, who is the son of a veteran Henry County police officer, was airlifted to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston in critical condition, but died around 11:40 a.m., Wright said. Conner was a student at Locust Grove Middle School, an assistant school superintendent told the AJC.
"Our thoughts and concerns go out to the family and entire Locust Grove community," Rodney Bowler, assistant superintendent of Henry County schools, said by phone Thursday afternoon.
Bowler said grief counselors and a crisis team were at the school to assist students and teachers with the tragedy. A memorial was held at the school Thursday night.
It was not immediately known if the bus was stopped and if its stop arm and lights were on at the time the child was hit, Wright said. GSP investigators plan to review video from the bus to determine if it was stopped at the time of the crash, he said.
No charges have been filed.
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