By MIKE SIMONS Staff Photographer on Aug 29, 2013, at 2:24 PM Updated on 8/29 at 2:28 PM
Fourth grader Anakah Monreal,9, passes a makeshift memorial at the end of school at Park Elementary School Aug. 28, 2013. On Aug. 27, a child was struck and killed by a car. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World
I photographed the tragic accident in which 4-year-old Emmalee Halstead was killed after she darted out in front of an SUV turning into the parking lot at Park Elementary School. I returned the next day for a follow-up
storyOn Wednesday a motorist drove by and shouted, "A little too soon, don't you think?"
My response to this question is yes. But, while it is too soon and while I feel bad that students had to be subjected to the herd of us news photographers and reporters standing outside it is needed and we needed to be there. Why? Without the media covering this tragic accident, it would have happened in a vacuum. No one outside of the immediate area would have known about it. Personally I feel like every parent, like me, who drives through a school parking lot needed to know about this. Every parent needs to have a conversation with their children about it.
It was nice to see that there was a memorial that was placed near the scene. It shows that this child's death moved a lot of people. I was glad I was there to document that as well.
Police say this accident was nothing more than that; a tragic accident. It is however, a good reminder to us all to be careful. I appreciate the school and its students for allowing us to get the word out to others and hope the rest of their school year is safe and uneventful.
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A makeshift memorial at the end of school at Park Elementary School Aug. 28, 2013. On Aug. 27, a child was struck and killed by a car. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World
