PAGELAND, S.C. -- A child was hit and killed outside Pageland Elementary School Tuesday morning.
The county's medical examiner's office identified the child as Nelly Herrera, 7.
According to police, a family arrived at Pageland Elementary around 9:35 a.m. to enroll their children in the school.
"They were inside enrolling the older child in school, needed some additional paperwork and sent the younger child out to the car to get the paperwork," said Chesterfield County Public School Superintendent, Harrison Goodwin.
"When the child tried to cross the street they were hit by the car," he said.
Parents were notified about the tragic turn of events. The highway was closed for several hours to allow investigators to reconstruct the accident.
"Its such a strange circumstance because the family was coming to enroll, so we didn't really know the family. They were here to enroll new students, then all of a sudden you are dealing with a tragedy."
The driver told authorities she did not see the girl as she drove along busy Highway 601 that runs directly in front of the school.
It's unclear how fast the driver was going, but Goodwin says speeding is not a major problem here.
"It was around 9:30, so all of our morning routine was finished for the day. We don't drop children off in front of the school, we do that around at the back, for both buses and cars, so this was just an unfortunate situation."
The child was pronounced dead at CMC Union Hospital at 10:21 a.m.
Officials from the Pageland Police Department, Chesterfield County Sheriff's Department and Chesterfield County School District Administration responded. This accident will be investigated by the South Carolina Highway Patrol, M.A.I.T.
The school will have counselors available for students and staff as needed
