13-Year-Old Nevada Student Killed While Waiting For School Bus

October 6, 2020

Closeup of a School Bus Stop Ahead Sign Against a Blue Sky — Stock photo.

A Churchill County Middle School student was hit and killed while waiting at his school bus stop on Sept 25.

According to the family’s GoFundMe page, 13-year-old Jaiden Locarnini Barajas was waiting with his sisters Nina and Violet for the school bus when a vehicle veered off the road and struck him. Barajas protected his sisters by pushing them out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.

The Churchill County Sheriff’s Office stated it had received a call before noon that a male juvenile had been struck by a pickup truck near the intersection of Tumbleweed and Rice Road. Barajas was pronounced dead by the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office.

The Nevada Highway Patrol and its Major Accident Investigations Team responded to conduct the traffic investigation, and the sheriff’s office conducted the coroner investigation, the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office stated in a press release.

Following the incident, Churchill County Sheriff Richard Hickox took to Facebook to express his condolences to the family and friends of the victim.

“I would like to take a moment to address a tragedy that struck our community [on Sept. 25], the senseless death of a young man, on Rice Road and the questions that surround this tragic event,” Hickox posted. “I offer my condolences to the family and friends of Jaiden, I cannot imagine the loss and pain you are feeling right now.”

Local media outlets reported that a vigil was held on Sept. 27, at the same spot Barajas was killed. No information on why the truck veered toward the child has been released at this writing, but the Reno Gazette Journal reported that the Nevada Highway Patrol declined to identify the driver, who had been not charged or arrested.