Mother is hit, killed by bus
A mother was struck and killed by a school bus Friday afternoon in Walnut as she was picking up her daughter from school, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Andrea Meza, 31, was running across a driveway in front of Cyrus J. Morris Elementary School, holding her toddler in her arms when the bus turned into the driveway. The bus hit her from behind, and her 2-year-old daughter, Natalie, went flying and landed on the ground in front of her, according to the CHP.
The bus ran over the mother but didn’t injure the child, CHP Officer Edmund Zorrilla said.
“It’s a mother’s ultimate sacrifice to protect her baby,” he said. “She gave her life for her baby.”
Meza’s 8-year-old daughter, Kathleen, and her cousins witnessed the crash, which took place as school was letting out for the day, said Meza’s brother-in-law Eduardo.
“Everything happened so fast,” Eduardo Meza said. “She basically just got crushed by the bus.”
Eduardo Meza said the family lives in Walnut, just a few blocks from the school. Andrea Meza walked Kathleen to and from school every day.
Meza’s husband, her parents visiting from Ecuador and several other family members came to the school Friday evening and a priest administered last rites before the coroner took her body. Meza was a stay-at-home mom who was very involved in the Catholic Church and loved to decorate, Eduardo Meza said. She also had two teenage stepchildren.
“Everyone that knew her is in a world of hurt,” he said. “Her friends, family and neighbors are already feeling her loss.”
There were several children on the bus at the time, but none were injured, Zorrilla said. After hitting Meza, the bus swerved, went up on the curb and onto the grass, he said.
The CHP plans to get a statement from the driver, check for drugs or alcohol and conduct an inspection of the bus. Zorrilla said he didn’t know if the bus was accelerating, if it made too wide a turn or if the driver lost control when she hit Meza. He said the driver “is taking it very hard.”
Zorrilla said authorities don’t know why Meza was struck and “have to figure out what happened.”
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