Student at Ashburn’s Stone Bridge HS struck and killed while crossing road

The principal at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia confirmed a student was hit and killed while crossing the intersection of Claiborne Parkway and Portsmouth Boulevard during the 9 a.m. hour Tuesday.

The victim has been identified as 20-year-old Calina Yu, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say a Loudoun County Public Schools maintenance vehicle struck Yu. The truck was inspected for damage and later towed away from the scene. The driver, an employee of the school district, stayed on the scene.

Throughout the day Tuesday, a memorial including stuffed animals and flowers placed on the ground grew as word broke of the student’s death.

Dariush, a resident who lives right next to the road, says he and his family heard the ambulances in the morning.

“I’m so sad. I don’t know, what can I say for this?” he said. “My wife, she’s right here, crying for a couple of hours. We don’t know who was here — but so sad.”

The Stone Bridge High School staff put out a letter to parents Tuesday saying, in part, “As you can imagine, we are heartbroken by this loss. A traumatic event such as this can evoke a wide range of emotions, and we know the Loudoun County community joins us in grieving alongside the student’s family. We are sharing this information so parents and caregivers are aware and may speak with their children in the way they feel is most appropriate.”

Grief counselors will be made available, according to the school, and all after school activities have been canceled.

Meanwhile, some people in the area say the 45 mile per hour speed limit is often ignored, and there have been numerous crashes.

“We’ve just experienced so many accidents, and we’ve always been scared that it would be a pedestrian, and this morning it was,” said one resident, who did not want to be identified. “It’s horrible. This isn’t about me. I feel for that family. I can’t even imagine what they are going through, but I wanted to make a statement to escalate the importance of doing something because this is a 45 mile an hour road that, let’s be honest, people drive close to 60 down.”

While there are crosswalks all throughout the intersection where the crash happened, residents told News4 it’s not uncommon for students to cross outside of them. News4 doesn’t yet know if that was the case.