By Thomas Tracy
A 13-year-old girl with aspirations of becoming a nurse was run down by a car just paces from Canarsie High School on Monday — right in front of her horrified friends.
Police said Sarah Parris was crossing the corner of Rockaway Parkway and Avenue J at 7:50 am with two friends when she was struck by a BMW traveling along Rockaway Parkway. Upon impact, the luxury car spun out of control and hit a parked car, police said.
Parris, who attended the High School for Medical Professions inside Canarsie High School, was rushed to Brookdale Hospital where she died of her injuries.
The man behind the wheel of the BMW, identified by police as 35-year-old Philadelphia resident Mohammed Diakite, remained at the scene. He hadn’t been charged with any crime by late Tuesday. Parris and her friends were reportedly crossing against the light, according to police sources.
News of Parris’s death quickly swept through the school with friends of the bright, plucky teen being overwhelmed with grief.
“I just saw her laying on the street and blood,” 14-year-old Akili Charles told the New York Post. “[Parris] was cool with everybody. If you’re sad or something, she’d come and talk to you.”
Distraught family members said that Parris was a fan of the “Twilight” movies and pop legend Michael Jackson.
“I think I’m in a dream,” the teen’s mom, Brenda Parris, told reporters Monday. “I keep thinking they’ll call and tell me my daughter is OK and she’s going to wake up.”
Canarsie High School was closed Tuesday for Election Day. Grief counselors will be at the school all week to help students cope with the tragedy.
