UPDATE: Teen Fatally Struck By Cars In Vineland, NJ Identified
VINELAND, NJ (CBS) – Grief counselors are helping students deal with the tragic loss of their classmate in Vineland, Cumberland County.
Police say 14-year-old Alexa Strittmatter, a student at Vineland High School North, was walking to the bus stop when she was fatally struck around 6:50 a.m. in the area of South Main Road and Magnolia Road.
Strittmatter, a Freshman, has two older siblings that attend the high school that were present at the time of the accident. A very sad day for everyone who knew this girl.
"I was just in shock. I could not speak."
Dillon Murray knows at 14-years-old it is much too early in life to say goodbye to a close friend.
"You don't expect to come into school one day and someone to tell you that your best friend is dead," Murray said.
Police say Strittmatter was near her bus stop on Main Road when two cars struck her. This is before the bus arrived. It was dark. Officials are unclear how the accident was initiated.
Officers say the drivers did remain at the scene. No charges have been filed at this time, as the matter is still under investigation.
Vineland school officials tell Eyewitness News that students who have to cross roadways to catch buses are supposed to wait for the bus to arrive and put on its caution signs.
"We have a largely rural area and a lot of places there aren't sidewalks. So care has to be exercised, by drivers and by students," John Sbrana of Vineland School District said.
The district offered grief counselors to students who decided that the best way to honor Alexa is to get the attention of her favorite band, One Direction. All afternoon Twitter exploded with the hashtag #1DForAlexa.
"The whole high school is really coming together. This is sad. We don't want to lose a classmate. We don't want to lose someone so smart and beautiful. It is just really sad," Ciana Perez said.
One of the students in the drama department tells Eyewitness News they would like to do something in her honor and have a scholarship for Alexa. Also, tomorrow being Halloween, students want to wear orange to honor Alexa.
