Truck driver facing charges in death of boy, 9, who was boarding school bus
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Hunter Newman, 22, allegedly hit a 9-year-old boy who was crossing a street to board a school bus. (Lee County Sheriff's Department)
A truck driver in Mississippi was facing charges after fatally striking a 9-year-old boy who was boarding a school bus Wednesday morning, local media reported.
The child, identified as Dalen Thomas, was airlifted from Baldwyn, where the accident occurred, to a children's hospital in Memphis, Tenn., where he later died, the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., reported.
Authorities said the boy was a student at Baldwyn Elementary School. Raymond Craven, the school district's assistant superintendent, told WTVA-TV of Tupelo, Miss., that the bus was stopped when the truck hit the child. Four students were on the bus at the time, the Mississippi Highway Patrol said.
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The MHP identified the truck driver as Hunter Newman, 22, of Marietta, WCBI-TV of Columbus, Miss., reported. He was formally charged in Lee County with aggravated assault, the report said. His bond was set at $10,000.
Superintendent Jason McKay told WTVA that the school district is working with law enforcement to investigate the accident.
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"We are working with law enforcement to investigate the accident. The safety of our students will always be the number one concern," McKay told the Clarion-Ledger.
Wednesday's tragedy came a day after a 9-year-old girl and her twin 6-year-old brothers were killed and another child critically injured after they were hit by a pickup truck while crossing a street in northern Indiana to board a school bus.