Girl killed by car youngest of 8 kids

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) - A 7-year-old girl has died after a vehicle struck her in Hampton Thursday evening.

Sgt. Jason Price with the Hampton Police Division said Ar Blut Paw was crossing near the intersection of Kecoughtan Road and Robinson Road when the driver of a 2009 Kia Rio hit her just before 6 p.m. There was no crosswalk at the intersection.

Several people called 911 to report the accident.

Officers found Paw in critical condition. Witnesses say her head hit the front bumper of the car. Medics took the girl to a local hospital where doctors listed her in critical condition.

Price said she was transported to a hospital where she was pronounced dead at 11:22 p.m. Her identity has not yet been released.

According to the young girl's Pastor Clint Mitchell, Paw  was walking on the sidewalk with her sister and several other children, when she suddenly broke away from the group. One man, who asked not to be identified, says the little girl ran in front of his vehicle first, but he was able to stop.

"She waved at us as she attempted to cross the street," said the witness. "She was having a joyful moment."

"Like a  lot of seven year olds she doesn't like to listen to her older sister, and so when they were  crossing she didn't want to hold her hand she just ran out. She thought she could get there and couldn't," said Mitchell.

The witness says the car driving in the opposite direction could not stop in time.

Members of the Wythe Presbyterian Church say the girl was on her way to participate in a community program held at the church. Patty Robertson, a volunteer, said the girl immigrated from Myanmar.

Pastor Clint Mitchell told WAVY.com the girl was the youngest of eight children. Her family joined the church two months before the crash.

"She was a very bright child she was doing very well in school," Mitchell said. "She was starting to learn English. She was very bright and energetic."

The accident is a tragic end to this girl's life.

"Her family is from Myanmar," Mitchell said. "She was born in Thailand while [her family] was in a refugee camp. Her family was in a refugee camp for 11 years."

While many of the residents on Kecoughtan Road and Robinson Road didn't know the family's language or history, they all feel the family's pain.

"Grief doesn't know language and culture," Mitchell said. "It's grief. Other than language issues the biggest  thing right now there is a family that is heartbroken because they lost their loved daughter."

Police have not charged the driver but the investigation is ongoing.

To help cover the costs of Paw's funeral, you can send donations to the Myanmar Crisis Fund at the Wythe Presbyterian Church in Hampton. The congregation also plans to have a small service on Saturday in Paw's memory.