That is so sad!! Will pray for grandmother's recovery & that the class & family & school can recover as it's going to affect a lot of your town. So hard for parents & other kids in family if there are any. Hope the pizza girl wasn't texting, so foolish, I was watching where I was going today or I could have hit a girl texting & walking, she didn't even look to see if cars were coming, just stepped right out & kept her finger on the stupid thing. Hugs & prayers going out for all of you! Jan

Prayer being said for the entire group.....
Accidents can happen soooo quickly--I don't even glance at any of the panel dials anymore--LOTS of traffic to watch.

WOW Kirk, will be praying for all. Such a needless tragedy. As a driver and pedestrian you ALWAYS have to be vigilant---even on country roads.
Love, Jules

Such an awful tragedy.....so sad for all concerned. Will definitely send a prayer or two their way today.

A touching, moving addition to this story. We're still in school... The teacher of the girl's class had his students write letters to the little girl, and then the school gathered in a circle, holding hands to release the letters tied to balloons. One child accidentally released his balloon (which was pink) before the others. The class was upset until the teacher said, "Don't be upset...pink was Olivia's favorite color. Like the balloon, Olivia left us too soon." The school watched in complete silence as the balloon floated away...

Sometimes a mistake turns into just the perfect tribute!! Great teacher to turn it around for all the kids(& not wound the child who accidentally let go!! We need compassion like that in our teachers!! I think the kids will remember Olivia longer by the way it went down, so glad pink was her favorite color!! Thanks for the update! Letters helped kids get their feelings out too. How is your Olivia holding up? Must be very hard on her being same age & same name. I hope someone is counseling girl that caused the accident, she is young & will have to live with it rest of her life, I hope someone reaches out to her & helps her through it & her parents also. Hugs, Jan

This is so heart-wrenching, Kirk! I can't even imagine this kind of pain and suffering.
Sending prayers to all who loved and knew that little girl,
and for her grandmother to survive this tragedy.
I'm crying just thinking about her Dad trying to save her.....

I can certainly see how affected you would be with all the similarities to your Olivia. How could you not be!

Thank you for sharing the balloon story, its beautiful.
And that is a GREAT teacher those children have.
Its also really wonderful that her parents donated her organs so other children could live. To have such good come out of something so terrible!

hugs,
Karen

Oh, Kirk, with you sharing this post, we can help a little thru good thoughts & prayer. May God hold this family in His hands & lift them up thru this horrible tragedy. Prayers of healing for all involved & for friends & students, teachers as this loss is endured. And may God bless you and yours, Kirk, thru this sorrow. Jeanne S.

How sad and tragic! I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a child so young and so senselessly. Prayers go out to the little girl's family and friends.