Utah child hospitalized after being hit by school bus

An 8-year-old girl suffered life-threatening injuries when she was hit by a school bus Wednesday afternoon in South Jordan.

The girl was on a southbound bus that pulled into the shoulder of 4000 West near 10600 South about 4:15 p.m. to drop students off, said South Jordan police spokesman Sam Winkler. She got off the bus and began crossing 4000 West to the east, Winkler said. Another Jordan School District bus was traveling south on 4000 West; the driver did not see the girl and struck her, Winkler said.

The girl was critically injured, Winkler said. She was driven by ambulance to Intermountain Medical Center and then flown to Primary Children's Hospital. She was undergoing surgery Wednesday night for head injuries.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the girl's school bus had activated its stop sign or whether it was required to be activated during that stop, Winkler said.

Jordan District spokeswoman Sandy Riesgraf would not discuss specifics of the crash but said, "Our hearts are broken any time we see something like this happen."

ealberty@sltrib.com

Twitter: @erinalberty