The children who were hit and killed near their elementary school in Riverdale Park, Maryland, on Monday were 5 and 10, authorities said amid heartbreak and horror in the community.
The victims were 5-year-old Sky Sosa and 10-year-old Shalom Mbah, who both lived in Riverdale, Prince George’s County police said Tuesday. Sky's father, Franklin Sosa, was struck and injured.
“Two families, friends, are without their children today, at a time when we are gearing up to give thanks for all the blessings that have been bestowed on us," Chief of Police Malik Aziz said at a news conference.
The families of the victims and the school community are suffering an “unimaginable loss,” Prince George’s County Public Schools Superintendent Millard House II said. “Our hearts ache.”
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Flowers, stuffed animals and candles were placed near the scene of the deadly crash.
Police share new details about what happened outside Riverdale Elementary
Police shared new details on Tuesday about what happened outside Riverdale Elementary School. According to the initial investigation, the children and the man were crossing Riverdale Road in a crosswalk when a woman driving a Ford van south on Taylor Road turned left onto Riverdale. The van hit all three people.
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“I could hear her take off,” Sky’s father said. “I turned toward her. That’s when she hit me. As she hit me, I could see her face. I hit the van, but she kept going and accelerated. I fell to the side and turned as she kept accelerating. I saw the van lift up as she hit the kids … and that’s where she destroyed my heart.”
Sky’s mother, Laura Palacios, rushed to the scene.
“I ran to the school as fast as I could just to find my son laying down on the floor,” she said. “He was holding him. I saw the little girl first, who was in the middle of the crosswalk, and all the blood. When I saw that, I just yelled because I didn’t see my son first. I saw him second.”
Officers from Prince George’s County police and Riverdale Park police responded at about 8 a.m. and tried to save the children. They were rushed to a hospital, where they died.
Franklin Sosa suffered injuries to his legs and neck. The van’s driver was not injured.
“I won’t be able to see his smile anymore or his eyes,” Sky’s mother said. “And every morning, you know, we would get, like, a morning hug before he would go to school.”
“He was the one that made our home, our home,” she said. “You know, I have two other kids. My oldest, two oldest, but Sky, he just completed us.”
People near the school described a heartbreaking scene.
"I ran to see what happened, and I see a little girl lying on the street and then a father with his boy in his arms, and the boy was hurt. He was asking for help. It was all so sad," one woman told Telemundo 44 in Spanish.
“I’m crying for the babies,” another woman said as she fought tears.
Crisis counselors are available at the school and virtually, House said. Classes were moved online for Tuesday.
The police department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit will investigate, and findings will be “turned over to the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for consideration of criminal charges,” a statement from police said. The investigation may take months.
The driver is not in custody, Aziz said. Police are reviewing video footage.
“I try to think it was not intentional, it could not have been intentional, you know,” Palacios said. “Unfortunately, my son and the other little girl lost their life, so she’s going to have to live with that.”
There was no crossing guard at the intersection at the time of the crash, Aziz confirmed. He said he’s unsure having a crossing guard would have made a difference.
“In all likelihood, adults – school crossing guard or not – would have most likely, in high probability, have been struck too,” Aziz said.
The school’s longtime crossing guard retired and police, who hire crossing guards, are working to fill the position, Aziz said. The police department is hiring crossing guards for positions paying $17.22 to $26.93 per hour, with benefits. “Help keep our children safe,” a flyer says.
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Parents told News4 the woman who hit the children runs a school transport business. Aziz declined to say whether that’s correct.
Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police. Tipsters can stay anonymous.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
