Girl, 13, struck, killed by vehicle on her way to school

With the assistance of Hernando Sheriff's Office public service aide Pete Montero, Florida Highway Patrol Cpl. Louie Wells, standing, investigates the scene where a 13-year-old girl walking to her bus stop on her way to school was struck and killed by a passing pickup this morning. [BRENDAN FITTERER | Times]

BROOKSVILLE -- A 13-year-old girl walking to a school bus stop was struck and killed by a passing vehicle this morning, Florida Highway Patrol officials said.

In the aftermath, Hernando County school officials are promising to review safety procedures.

Authorities said Kaitlyn Harper of Brooksville, a student at West Hernando Middle School west of Brooksville, was walking south along the edge of California Street near the intersection of Narrows Street (see map below) when she was struck by a Dodge pickup driven by Mark A. Buel, 52, of Brooksville. The pickup was also headed south on California. A call to 911 reported the incident at 6:44 a.m.

Buel has not been charged. "He was cooperative and distraught," said Sgt. Steve Gaskins, an FHP spokesman. Contacted at his home by the Times, Buel declined to comment.

Gaskins said Harper was struck by the truck's right front headlight, which was damaged in the collision. The girl's body traveled some distance from where she was struck, though the distance was not immediately clear, said Gaskins. Buel told the FHP he did not see the girl. Harper was taken to Brooksville Regional Hospital, where she died.

The collision occurred on a street with no street signs or lights, or sidewalks. Given that it was still dark out at that hour, visibility may have been low, though it was undetermined whether that was a factor in the incident, Gaskins said. The road is bounded on one side by mobile homes and on the other by empty lots.

Hernando school officials said that at the time she was hit, Harper was walking to a different bus stop than one to which she was assigned.

"I don't think she typically does that," said district transportation director Linda Smith. "She has a stop at the end of her street. That's the one she was normally using."

Smith said Harper's brother got on the bus at their assigned stop at Wolf and Powell roads, just to the east of the accident scene, but the girl chose to walk down to the later stop on California.

"There's no need to walk up California," Smith said, speculating that the girl might have been walking to visit a friend at the other stop.

"We have stops every other block for the little kids. Some of the older ones might have to walk a block," she added. "There are no hazards. There's room for kids to walk off the road on the grass."

School Board member Jim Malcolm said the district has always spent extra money from its budget to pick up students who live within 2 miles of their school and don't qualify for state funding.

"And part of the reason is lack of sidewalks," he added.

But Malcolm said the district should promptly re-examine bus pickup spots to ensure students don't have to cross dangerous stretches of road.

"If we have to stop in front of the youngster's house, we stop in front of the youngster's house," he said. "Certainly a review is in order."

Superintendent Wayne Alexander said he had visited the scene of the accident, where deputies told him that the girl was walking just inside the white outside stripe on the road when she was struck.

"Kids are naturally going to walk on the road if they don't see any cars," he added. "Where would you walk at 6:45 in the morning, the grass or the street?"

Alexander said the district would continue to review the safety of its bus stops, but might also take the issue of safety on California Street to the County Commission to review the possibility of adding lights or other traffic-calming measures.

"I think we'll definitely take a look at it," he said. "I don't know to what degree that road is lit in the morning."

-- Luis Perez, Joel Anderson and Tom Marshall, Times staff writers

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