5-year-old girl run over by McKeesport Area School District bus, parents say

MCKEESPORT, Pa. — Five-year-old Elena Lihas is currently at UPMC Children’s Hospital after being hit by a school bus in McKeesport.

In a letter to families of the McKeesport Area School District, Superintendent Donald L. MacFann reported that an elementary school student was injured in the incident, which occurred around 3:45 p.m. at the corner of Soles Street and Stewart Street.

Channel 11 News spoke with the girl’s mother, Donna Wright, who expressed her distress.

“She means the world to me. I thought she was gone. She is so little and lifeless,” Wright said.

According to Wright, she was walking to her children’s bus stop on Tuesday afternoon when her 12-year-old daughter ran down the street, crying and yelling that her younger sister had been hit and run over by the school bus. Wright rushed to her youngest daughter, Elena, and found her being cradled in a neighbor’s arms.

“I was just like, oh my God,” Wright recalled. “I went running and saw people around her. One lady was holding her, and she was bleeding from the back of her head.”

Elena was quickly taken to Children’s, where she received multiple staples for her head injury. Wright told Channel 11 News that her daughter suffered a concussion but is recovering and has been surrounded by support from her school community throughout the evening.

“Her kindergarten teacher was here today and sat with me for two hours. The principal was also here, and the superintendent came as well,” Wright said.

The school district has confirmed that a full investigation is underway.

Wright stated: “I will be pressing charges; my child could have died today.”

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