Student Dies After Being Pinned Between Van and School Bus

QUEENS, N.Y. — A 7-year-old student here has died after being struck by a van and pinned against a school bus on Wednesday.

New York Police Department told NBC New York that the student, who was identified as Cameron Brown, was crossing Gipson St. in Far Rockaway behind the stopped school bus around 3 p.m. when the van behind the bus hit him. Authorities told ABC7 that the 22-year-old driver of the van apparently thought he was braking but stepped on the gas instead. Brown was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he later died, ABC7 reports.

Richard A. Carranza, the chancellor of New York City Schools, said in a statement regarding the incident, according to ABC7, that he is “heartbroken by this tragic loss” and that he shares his “condolences with the family and school community.” Carranza also said in the statement that the school will have crisis counseling available to its students and staff.

It wasn’t immediately clear why the student was crossing the street behind the school bus, or whether the school bus’s warning lights and stop arm were in use while the bus was stopped, NBC New York reports. An investigation is ongoing.