Indiana high school student boarding bus hit, killed by car

COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) - A 16-year-old Indiana high school student preparing to board a school bus was struck and killed Monday morning in by a car whose driver was taken into custody after he fled, police said.

The Columbus East High School student was pronounced dead at a hospital after being struck about 6:55 a.m. while trying to board the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. bus, police said.

The Bartholomew County coroner identified her as Lily Streeval of Columbus and ruled her death a homicide, with the cause of death blunt force trauma to the cervical spine and chest, The Republic reported.

Preliminary findings indicate Streeval was struck by a southbound vehicle as she was walking eastbound across a street to board the bus, police said.

Sheriff's deputies who reviewed footage of the incident and gathered witness statements said it appears the bus was stopped with its stop arms extended.

The motorist drove off, but was followed by a witness and taken into custody a short time later along a road in the city about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Indianapolis, police said.

Shiam Sunder Shankara Subramanian, 25, of Columbus faces preliminary felony charges of leaving the scene of an accident causing death, reckless driving and passing a stopped school bus with arms extended causing death, according to police.

In 2019, Indiana lawmakers approved tougher penalties for drivers who pass school buses with extended stop arms after three children were fatally struck while crossing a highway to board a bus.

The school district's superintendent, Jim Roberts, said in a statement that students and staff who knew Streeval 'œwill miss her greatly.'ť

'œOur hearts go out to Lily's family, friends, classmates and teachers who loved and supported her. She was full of life and enjoyed attending Columbus East High School. Auto Tech had emerged as her favorite class and she was thinking about a career in this area," Roberts added.