Girl Killed By SUV At Park Elementary School In West Tulsa

A little girl was killed in a West Tulsa elementary school parking lot Tuesday afternoon.

The 4-year-old was hit by a car at Park Elementary, just as school let out.

Police and school officials are calling this a tragic accident. The little girl was not a student at the school, but she was there with her mom to pick up a sibling. Police say, moments before the child was hit, she was walking with her mother.

On Wednesday, Tulsa Police identified the girl as Emmalee Halstead. 

A handful of flowers lay on the curb where the 4-year-old girl lost her life Tuesday afternoon. Two Park Elementary School students placed them there to honor the little girl they'd never met.

"I'm so sorry for the little girl and her mother," said 10-year-old Katelyn VanZandt.

Katelyn, along with her friend and their moms were outside the school when the child was hit and killed.

Katelyn's mom said it all happened in a flash.

"She had let go of her mom's hand and ran across the driveway, and the car didn't even see her, didn't even see her," Melynda Boles said.

Police say the 4-year-old was walking with her mother, but darted off near a parking lot entrance, where the driver of an SUV was pulling in to pick up her child.

"She was so small, she just got away from her mom," Boles said.

"I heard tires and I looked behind me, I saw the car stop, I heard people screaming," said Heather Johnson.

The accident happened during one of the school's busiest times, just after the bell rang to end the day, leaving dozens of children as witnesses.

"When we were pulling out, they didn't have everything up, so she saw the little girl laying there, so she was asking what had happened," Heather Johnson said.

"My grandma was driving around here and I saw the little girl and there was just blood," said 8-year-old Abby Johnson.

It was a scene that their parents said will scar these children for the rest of their lives.

"I say, 'God, please, please take her in your arms, please take her in your arms and take care of her, please,'" Katelyn said.

Police have not released the victim's name.

Park Elementary School does have crossing guards, but witnesses say nothing could have stopped the accident from happening.

Right now, police say what happened was just a tragic accident.

There were obviously many children outside the school when this happened Tuesday and the school says there will be counselors on hand Wednesday and throughout the week, if any of those students need help coping with the accident.