A school bus driver was arrested and charged, accused of hitting a 15-year-old girl in a hit-and-run crash in Brooklyn Monday morning.  -  File photo

A school bus driver was arrested and charged, accused of hitting a 15-year-old girl in a hit-and-run crash in Brooklyn Monday morning.

File photo

A school bus driver was arrested and charged after a 15-year-old girl was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Brooklyn Monday morning. According to local news station WABC, police arrested the driver, 55-year-old Aleksandr Patlakh, and charged him with a failure to stop for a pedestrian and failure to use due care. Law enforcement officials said they tracked down the suspect and took him into custody. Police said they believed the man was unaware he had hit the girl.

Witnesses say the bus had students onboard when the crash happened, just before 8 a.m. The bus was transporting children to a nearby Jewish school, which was in session. Public schools were closed for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday.

The driver was making a slow right turn at an intersection near the school. The victim, identified as 15-year-old Antonina Zatulovska, had the right-of-way, and was in the crosswalk when she was struck. Witnesses found her lying in the road.

Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris released a statement saying in part, "we are heartbroken and angry, and send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the teenager killed in Sheepshead Bay this morning. Whether they are crossing the street, standing at bus stops, or being pushed in strollers, traffic crashes continue to kill our kids and remain the leading cause of injurious death for children across New York City."

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