84-Year-Old Woman Charged Over Hit-and-Run Death of Boy, 6, Walking to School Bus Stop with His Siblings

An 84-year-old woman has been charged in connection with an alleged hit-and-run that killed a 6-year-old boy in Australia.

Detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit charged the woman after she allegedly struck the child with her vehicle in Teesdale on March 27 and then left the scene, Victoria Police said in a news release on Tuesday, Nov. 25.

The boy was hit just after 8 a.m. local time on Bannockburn-Shelford Road while he was walking to school and died at the scene, according to police.

He has been identified as 6-year-old Caleb Wesley, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported. At the time of the incident, he was reportedly walking with his two siblings, ages 9 and 12.

Police said the vehicle involved in the collision allegedly left the area but was later found at an address in Teesdale.

According to Victoria Police, the 84-year-old Teesdale woman has been charged with failing to stop, failing to render assistance and failing to report a collision.

She has been released on bail and is scheduled to appear at Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Nov. 28.

Wesley was a student at Covenant College in Victoria. In a statement, school principal Joshua McEwen said the community was “devastated” by his death and described the boy as “always one of the first to show kindness to others,” according to News.com.au.

“Thank you to all who are praying for Caleb’s family and our school,” McEwen said. “Our prayers are also for the many others who have been impacted, including those who witnessed this tragedy, those who assisted at the scene, as well as the driver and her family.”

Requests for comment from Covenant College and Victoria Police were not immediately returned.