Brother and sister struck by car while trying to get on school bus

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - "Just another day... me and my brother go out to the bus stop. Wait. Saw it go around the corner up here and then, blank," Harrison High School Junior Jasmine Starrett said about Friday morning.

Just another day that changed in a heartbeat.

17-year-old Jasmine Starrett and her 12 year-old brother, Kyle, were hit by a car when they were crossing the street to get on the school bus early Friday morning.

Starrett said they has to cross one lane of traffic on County Road 300 to get on the bus and said she doesn't ever remember seeing a car coming toward them.
    
"I woke up in the hospital and my dad was by my side and I'm like, 'Where am I at? What's going on?' and he was like, 'You're in the hospital. You got hit," Starrett said.

The Harrison High School junior said her whole body is covered in cuts and bruises.

Starrett said her brother, who attends Battle Ground Middle School, is in much better shape and said that's the most important thing.

"I'm glad that I took most of the impact and not my little brother because I don't know how he'd be if he got hit by that car," Starrett said.

Their mother, Tricia Strickler, said she was three hours away in a meeting when she got the call that her kids were involved in a hit and run. Strickler said school buses have stop signs for a reason.

"Two minutes. What are you possibly going to lose in two minutes for stopping at the school bus. I mean, it could have easily been someone else's kids. She's lucky to be alive. She could be dead over a two-minute stop," Stickler said.

Starrett said she's thankful to be alive. She said she's not giving up hope that she'll still be able to go to Harrison's Homecoming dance Saturday. She said her main focus is getting better and moving on with her life.

Strickler said if she could talk to the person who hit both her children she'd said just one thing.

"Stop. Make sure they're alright. Accidents happen. It was dark and you didn't see them. I get that, but to just hit two kids and to just keep going, that's crazy," Stickler said.

"You're not going to forget what someone did to you but you can try and forgive them," Starrett said.

The Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the hit and run. The suspect vehicle is described as a small, dark SUV or large passenger car.

Anyone with additional information is urged to contact the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office or make an anonymous report using the WeTip hotline.

Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department: 765-423-9388

WeTip: 1-800-782-7463