ONONDAGA COUNTY, N.Y. -- "She was a nice little girl, smart little girl, very happy little girl,” said David Smith, victim’s neighbor.
David Smith is deeply saddened by what's happened to his little neighbor. Sunday afternoon, Kira Jefferson, 8, was riding her bike when she was struck by a pickup truck and killed.
Matt Majewski, 20, was driving the truck. The Sheriff's Office said Majewski was driving within the speed limit and alcohol was not a factor.
"It appears that the little girl just made a turn out into the driving lane and he didn't have an opportunity to stop. The collision occurred just about at the same place where he first applied his breaks,” said Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh.
Smith and other neighbors said they had seen Jefferson riding her bike without a helmet for the past several days. Smith said the little girl was riding to look at the cows across the street from her house. He and his wife last saw Jefferson on the bike about a half hour before the accident.
"Yes, I saw her then and its one of the things, you think, if you had stopped and told her to go home, but we didn't,” said Smith.
Sheriff Walsh said Bussey Road is no place for a kid on a bike.
An 8-year-old girl dies after being hit by a pickup truck in the Town of Onondaga. News 10 Now's Giselle Phelps is standing by on scene where the crash happened.
"This is a relatively heavily trafficked road, the speed limit is 55 miles per hour and it’s a dangerous place for a child to be on a bicycle,” said Walsh.
Jefferson was pronounced dead at Upstate Medical Center. No charges have been filed.
The Sheriff said they're still waiting for complete autopsy results to determine whether or not a helmet could have made a difference.