The driver of the car told police that Kimberly Armstrong was walking north on Broadway. The driver told police that he had a green light but, by the time he saw the 15-year-old girl, it was too late and he hit her.

The Missouri Department of Transportation estimates more than 22,000 vehicles travel this stretch of Kearney, which also is Missouri 744, every day.

This accident isn't the first time that the Springfield School District has seen such an accident. In October 2006, a van hit grade school students Carly Tiger and Tommie Stephenson at the intersection of Grand Street at National Avenue.

That accident led to a million-dollar overhaul of the district's bus routes. In 2007, the district added 15 buses and 900 students to its routes, providing rides to students who would have to cross designated "barrier" streets.

To qualify for free bus rides, here’s the district’s policy:

For regular education students, grades K-8 must live more than 1.5 miles from the school, and grades 9-12 must live more than 3.5 miles. Some regular education students may qualify for transportation if they must cross hazardous streets as designated by the Springfield Board of Education. A hazardous street carries more than 30,000 cars per day or has a speed limit of 45mph or higher. Barrier streets do not apply to high school students.

The question of why this student wasn't on a bus spurred a great deal of comment on our Web site. Whether Kimberly qualified for a bus ride to and from school depends on her home address.

An aunt of Kimberly said in an e-mail message that she walks to school because bus service is not available to her. The aunt says Kimberly loves school, as well as "swimming, karate, clogging and, most recently, tutoring French. She loves life and her friends and family mean the world to her. She is a very selfless person and helps anyone who needs it."

The aunt says Kimberly's 16th birthday is next week.