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A young girl leaves a giant stuffed animal at the makeshift memorial set up for an 11-year-old girl who died at the intersection of Ann Road and Pebble Rock Drive Friday afternoon after being hit by a school bus.
By Aida Ahmed 
Saturday, March 17, 2012 | 4:01 p.m.
Traffic woes in the valley
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KSNV coverage of police efforts to improve traffic safety, March 17, 2012.
Flowers, cards and stuffed animals sit at the intersection of Ann Road and Pebble Rock Drive Saturday for a 11-year-old girl who died the day before after being hit by a school bus.
Sun archives
A northwest valley community is mourning the loss of an 11-year-old girl who was fatally struck by a school bus near Ann Road and Pebble Rock Drive Friday afternoon.
Police say the girl may have fallen under the school bus around 4 p.m. Driver Leslie Rice, who was making a right onto Pebble Rock, had three students on board at the time.
The girl, who has not yet been identified, was run over and was pronounced dead at the scene. Rice and the three students were unharmed, according to a Clark County School District official.
The accident is the 27th fatal traffic collision in Metro Police’s jurisdiction this year.
Flowers, cards and stuffed animals sat Saturday at the intersection as neighbors and community members came to leave gifts at the spontaneous memorial.
Gary West heard about the accident through his pastor and stopped briefly at the memorial to leave flowers.
“I couldn’t imagine,” he said. “I have two girls of my own. It’s heart-breaking whenever you lose a child like that.”
West, whose daughters are 7 and 8, said he picks his kids up from school for fear that they may get abducted or be involved in an accident.
“We pour out our blessings to the family members,” West said.
Police are asking people who may have witnessed the accident to come forward. The accident occurred during a time when buses are dropping off students and parents are picking up their children, so police are hoping a parent who saw the incident will provide information.
One man, who asked not to be identified, lives on the street where the accident took place and was alerted to the commotion by his dogs. He said police and fire trucks closed the block for four hours while they investigated. The accident is the first of its kind that he’s seen in his 11 years in the neighborhood.
Mike Domino and his granddaughter Samantha, 9, passed the memorial on their way home from the store Saturday.
“It brings tears to my eyes every time I see that,” an emotional Domino said.
He saw the scene after the accident after picking up Samantha from Gilbert Elementary School.
“They got to do something about the bus drivers,” Domino said. “They don’t train them enough.”
The Clark County School District has not yet released information on Rice, the driver.
In a statement Friday, district spokeswoman Amanda Fulkerson said a crisis response team was at the scene of the accident to assist the three children who were on the bus when the girl was killed.
Fulkerson said a letter would be sent home Monday with students “at the appropriate school” to keep parents informed of the situation. She did not identify the school.
“We would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the family,” Fulkerson added.
The girl is the fourth juvenile to be killed by a vehicle in the past six months.
In late October Mia Decker, a 6-year-old North Las Vegas girl, was killed while walking in a crosswalk with her sister and friends. Another girl was also critically injured in the accident when Alice Alava, 78, failed to yield for the children.
In February, North Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Catherine Ramsey suspended Alava’s driver’s license for two years and ordered her to pay $5,000.
In late October 2011, Lucas Ruiz-Brenes, 15, was fatally struck by a car in Henderson. Although an investigation indicated the teen was not in a crosswalk and may have run in front of the car, the driver, 77-year-old Imre Jeno Dayka, was arrested on a charge of felony DUI with substantial bodily harm or death.
Days later on Halloween, 12-year-old Faith Monet Love was hit and killed in Summerlin while trick-or-treating. The driver, 41-year-old Justin Caramanica, was later arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs resulting in substantial bodily harm.
Friday’s accident is under investigation and police are asking witnesses to contact Detective William Redfairn at 828-3128.
I am saddened by this tragedy deeply as one who drives professionally. What adds insult to this is the lynch mob mentality that seeks to hang school bus drivers, when in fact, more pedestrians are killed each day by careless motorists than school bus drivers. Fact. The gentleman in this article, Mr. Domino, criticizes school bus driver training, yet fails to note the numerous Las Vegas parents who fly through school bus Stop Arms at our schools, homes and bus stops. These parents and local residents break the law daily and are far more dangerous than any school bus driver. The majority of our CCSD bus drivers are valued and appreciated by both parents and students. They have ample training. Look into it. They provide a thankless service. One, not easy, in a town that serves alcohol 24/7. The reality is, this can happen to ANYONE OF US, including Mr. Domino. Be careful before you criticize. It is a known fact, our kids dart out in front of buses when told not to and school buses do not stop on a dime. Today a bus driver, tomorrow, maybe you. Here, professionals, not uninformed critics, site the poor girl "falling under the bus," as a likely cause. That's a blind spot for you critics out there. Remember, this can happen to anyone of us, both victim and driver. Enough with bus driver bashing. My hearts sorrow goes out to the family of this little child. My compassion is with the bus driver who no doubt, is a good person who loved his students and never saw it unfolding. Get off his back. It could be you. Print an article about Las Vegas parents who speed through school zones and school bus Stop Arms while lights flash all around the school bus. Watch the video clip on the local news showing parents racing through our district's school zones before you hang a good person doing his daily work. Cheap shot.
Thank you, McSharry. People are so quick to jump and blame the bus driver without getting their facts straight or getting facts at all. This will never change. On other sites, people bring up speeding bus drivers and illegal lane changes, none of which have to do with this tragedy but fact of the matter is the common motorist is guilty of it more often and do more damage more often. Motorists frequently run stop arms like it doesn't apply to them, blow through school speed zones like it doesn't apply to them, no blinker lane changes and speeding up or slowing down to keep buses from making necessary lane changes. Perhaps those drivers should also be in the news for their multiple driving offenses. I bet this Mr. Domino guy in the article doesn't even know the first thing about driver training to be making his comment- He's obviously content to play the blame game. It's awful what happened and I too, feel terrible for the family but I also feel bad for Mr. Rice. I'm sure being a part of an unfortunate tragedy wasn't at the top of his daily agenda and that all he wanted to do was his job.