PENSACOLA, Fla. — A student was hit by a car and seriously injured after she stepped off her school bus on Tuesday, the Florida Highway Patrol told WALA.

A news release from the patrol obtained by WALA stated that Maria Alexandra Wethington, 12, was struck by a vehicle driving in the opposite lane after she left the bus and was walking across the road. She was being treated for her injuries. The driver of the vehicle, who fled the scene before troopers arrived, was later arrested.

A witness gave a detailed description of the suspected driver, who had failed to stop for the bus, which had stopped and had its warning lights activated, according to the news release from the patrol. Additionally, an anonymous tip led troopers to the suspect’s car, which had apparent damage on the right front corner from the collision: black scuff marks on the bumper which resembled the black velvet shoes that Wethington was wearing, the patrol told WALA. Troopers located a woman, Laurel Peyton Lewis, who matched the description that witnesses gave at the scene. Lewis admitted hitting the girl and leaving the scene, the patrol told the news source.

Lewis was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury and failure to stop for a school bus, according to WALA.

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