On First Day of School, 'We've Already Had a Tragedy'

The first day of school got off to a terrible start in Sarasota, Florida, on Monday as a mother accidentally ran over her daughter outside the 12-year-old's middle school. The girl had exited her mother's Lincoln Navigator on a road outside Booker Middle School around 7:45am local time, then bent down to pick up some pens and markers that had fallen out of her backpack, according to Florida Highway Patrol. The girl was on her hands and knees beneath the SUV when her 30-year-old mother, unable to see her daughter, started driving forward, per WFTS and USA Today. "She immediately stopped when she heard her child screaming," said FHP Trooper Kenneth Watson. Unfortunately, the damage was done.

The girl was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition, authorities said. She was in stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon, per WFTS. "Here we are, day one, and we've already had a tragedy," Watson told the outlet. He said it "100% could have been avoided by simply paying a little more attention and not being in a hurry." He noted the girl was dropped off in the right turn lane of a road in front of the school, which isn't advised. "This practice poses a significant risk to our students' safety and the safety of others on the road," said Booker Principal LaShawn Frost, urging parents and guardians to "follow the designated drop-off procedures by using the parent loop. This ensures that students enter the school safely." (More Florida stories.)