PALM BAY, Fla. – Grief counselors were set to talk with students and faculty members at Heritage High School on Thursday after a 17-year-old was killed while walking along a busy neighborhood street in the northwest section of Palm Bay.
The 11th grader was identified as Jasmine Monari, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
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The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday during the late afternoon rush hour as Monari, carrying a skateboard, was walking near Emerson Drive and Glencove Avenue, police reported. Within moments, the teen was struck by an oncoming car.
"We're trying to determine just what happened. The vehicle wasn't traveling at excessive speed. Both the teen and the driver should have had a clear view of each other. Obviously, there is no crosswalk in that area," said Lt. Mike Bandish of the Palm Bay Police Department.
"It's just an unfortunate accident. It appears that they just didn't see each other," he said.
Police were looking into reports that a nurse was at the scene attempting to revive the teen before Palm Bay Fire-Rescue workers arrived. The teen was then airlifted to nearby hospital for further treatment of her injuries but was instead pronounced dead a short time later. Police blocked a portion of Emerson and Glencove during the traffic investigation as onlookers walked by a nearby canal.
At one point, Monari’s distraught father arrived at the site where the teen was struck. Word of the teen’s death also quickly spread on social media.
“You were a really good friend to me and I'm sorry I'm so, so sorry this happened to you,” posted Dylan James Lawless to Monari’s Facebook page.
Officials say students at Heritage will be granted access to grief counselors throughout the day.
It was the second major accident to involve a juvenile being struck on a neighborhood roadway in less than 24 hours. A 9-year-old boy riding a bicycle was seriously injured after being hit by a vehicle near the intersection of DeGroodt Road and Calabria Avenue in the southeast section of the city. He remains in critical condition after being airlifted to a hospital in Orlando.
An investigation is underway in both cases.