Girl, 8, Struck And Killed While Riding Bicycle In South Jersey

An 8-year-old girl was struck and killed Thursday by an SUV while she was riding her bicycle on a sidewalk in South Jersey, police said.

Lela Cruz was struck near her home on the 400 block of State Street around 4:30 p.m., and ABC6 said an 84-year-old man, identified by sources as Julius Watson of Camden, hit her with his car. Watson allegedly lost control of his vehicle, jumped the curb and hit the girl, according to the report.

Watson also struck 40-year-old Wordell Johnson, who was sitting on steps nearby, according to ABC6. All three were transported to Cooper University Medical Center, where Lela later died. Watson and Johnson both remain in stable condition.

"We pride ourselves on the ability to have children go outside to play at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. That's something that we worked hard to get," Camden County Police Lt. Zsakhiem James told ABC6. "Unfortunately you have these incidents that happen. The loss of any life, of course, is a poignant one, a loss to the community."

YouTube photo and video courtesy of CBS3