An 8-year-old Griffin girl was killed Thursday when her family’s Buick collided with a school bus.

Henry County Police Department spokesman Lt. Joey Smith said that a school bus was traveling east on Ga. 20 Thursday afternoon when it slowed down and activated its flashers to let a student off. A 1996 Buick Century driving behind the bus swerved to avoid rear-ending it but could not avoid a collision, Smith said.

An 8-year-old girl riding in the Buick’s right-rear passenger seat was killed in the crash. Two other people in the Buick — the driver and a 7-year-old boy — sustained non-life threatening injuries, police said.

No injuries were reported by children riding the school bus.

“At this time there are no signs of drugs or alcohol being contributing factors,” Smith said, “however this accident is still under investigation.”

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