Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Who Killed My Kid?': Parents Speak Out After 12-Year-Old Girl Hit by Rolling Car Outside Her School
Arsema Mekonnen's parents said they brought their family to the United States from Ethiopia for a "better life"
GoFundMe
A memorial for Arsema MekonnenThe parents of a girl who died after she was hit by a rolling car outside her Seattle middle school are speaking out.
Seattle Police said the 12-year-old student was "fatally struck" by a vehicle that the driver, a 51-year-old woman, “failed to place it completely in park” before rolling backwards down a hill beside Washington Middle School on Thursday, March 6.
In a letter to families obtained by PEOPLE, Principal Adrian Manriquez said that the sixth grader was struck while walking to recess.
Family has identified the girl killed in the crash as Arsema Mekonnen, according to CBS affiliate KIRO-TV.
Related: 'Fun-Loving' Girl, 11, Dies After She Steps Off School Bus and Is Hit by Car: Reports
Arsema’s parents, dad Berihun Mekonnen and mom Tigist Yitna, told KIRO that they moved their family from Ethiopia to the United States for a brighter future.
“I brought my daughter here from Ethiopia to have a better life, to go to a better school, get better education,” Yitna tearfully said via a translator. “And then I send my child to school and I don’t get my child back.”
Mekonnen and Yitna said they hadn’t seen their daughter since dropping her off at school the day of her death, according to KIRO.
They also claimed no one from Seattle Public Schools reached out to them until the evening of Tuesday, March 11 — five days after the accident.
“Who killed my kid?” asked Mekonnen. “Why you don’t tell me? Why?”
Bev Redmond, the district’s chief of staff, said school officials aim to meet with Arsema’s family “as early as possible this week" and are “committed to supporting” them.
Seattle Public Schools did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Authorities have not yet determined if the driver involved in the fatal crash will face charges.
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Arsema will be laid to rest on Sunday, March 16, according to KIRO.
More than $42,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe campaign started to support the needs of Arsema’s family, including funeral expenses, following the girl’s sudden death.
Read the original article on People
