Dec 4, 2008 11:36 pm US/Eastern
14-Year-Old Honor Student Killed By Bus In Queens
Driver Issued 3 Summonses; Had Been In 2 Prior Accidents
By CAROLYN COSTELLO, CBS 2 HD News
QUEENS (CBS) ―
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Jasmine Paragas, 14, was struck and killed by a school bus in Queens on Thursday.
CBS
A family in Queens is coping with the heartbreaking loss of their beloved daughter.
The high school freshman was hit and killed by a school bus on her way to class on Thursday morning.
Jasmine Paragas, 14, was an honor student at Francis Lewis High School. She was killed on her way to catch the Q-88 to get to class.
Showkat Kazi is a next-door neighbor of the Paragas family. His daughter rides the Q-88 every day to school. The two grew up together and had class together.
"It's very hard for me … to take it," Kazi said. "I am shocked. … She's just like my daughter. She was playing at my house all the times."
According to Kazi, Paragas left home Thursday morning with her mother. The two were walking together until they parted ways. Moments later, Paragas crossed the street and was struck.
Distraught family and friends filled the Paragas house later in the day, and at Francis Lewis High School students and teachers were hit hard by the news.
"Even teachers started crying, so it was really heartbreaking … and she was a freshman," Kazi said.
The bus was making a left turn onto 57th Street and Paragas was crossing along the crosswalk. The driver of the bus, George Severino of Brooklyn, was issued three summonses by police -- two for equipment failure and a third for failing to yield to a pedestrian. There were five passengers on that bus in addition to the driver.
According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the bus driver has been involved in two accidents in the past three years.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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