Sugar Mill student killed in crash identified: 'My beautiful, smart, talented daughter is gone'
Young girl struck, killed while biking to school
For the first time, images have been released of the young girl who was tragically hit and killed on her way to school. The family of the little girl, 10-year-old ShaoLan Kamaly, shared their heartbreak, expressing gratitude for the outpouring of prayers, but are not yet ready to speak publicly.
PORT ORANGE, Fla. - The family of ShaoLan Kamaly is remembering their loved one after the fourth grader was hit and killed in front of a Volusia County elementary school last week.
ShaoLan Kamaly’s grandmother identified the 10-year-old as the victim in the crash in front of Sugar Mill Elementary in Port Orange last Friday.
According to Port Orange Police, the girl was riding her bike in a crosswalk outside the school's entrance when she was struck by the driver of an SUV, who had just finished dropping off another student. Police identified the driver as a 70-year-old woman from New Smyrna Beach. The woman was interviewed by police, but no criminal charges have been filed at this time pending the investigation.
That girl was taken to the hospital, where she died, police said.
ShaoLan’s grandmother, Dace Kamaly, described her as a sweet and talented young girl who loved to learn, loved her family, and loved the beach. She tells FOX 35 Orlando she and ShaoLan’s father are heartbroken and devastated. The family started a fundraising page to help them during this difficult time.
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"She took my heart with her. My beautiful, smart, talented daughter is gone, and there is nothing anyone could do about this fact," her father said on the fundraising page.
Credit: Dace Kamaly
On Tuesday, classes will resume at Sugar Mill Elementary following Memorial Day Weekend. Some parents aren’t sure if they’re going to send their children to school.
"My kid, he doesn't want to even go to school tomorrow. So I think that says a lot about what happened here. Because normally he'd say, oh, yeah, I'm going to school," said Seth Quartararo, the father to another fourth-grader at the school.
"The teachers are still dealing with it as well. It's going to be hard for them to have to cope with that. Also, stay strong for the kids and try to keep their composure for the rest of the week. So it's just it's just uphill for for everybody at this point," he continued.
This is not the first time a child has been hit by a vehicle at Sugar Mill Elementary School. The Port Orange Police Department said they have three reports of crashes in front of the school. In the other two cases, the child had minor injuries. The district also added that another child was hit a couple of weeks ago, also with minor injuries. Parents now have a message to other parents at school ahead of the last week of school.
"Slow down," said Quartararo. "Life doesn't need to be that fast. You can take the extra five seconds, 10s, whatever it's going to be, to watch kids go through a crosswalk and wait at the stop sign."
There is not a crossing guard located at the crosswalk where the deadly crash happened, and parents would like to see that changed. A parent started a petition in hopes of adding a crossing guard or police officer and speed humps on the road.
The Volusia County School Board will meet on Tuesday night, and many parents plan to attend.