WEBSTER, Mass. — Family, friends, and neighbors are mourning after a 10-year-old girl was struck and killed by a car in Webster over the weekend.
Family confirms to Boston 25 News that Marleigh Rose Pereira died after being hit by a vehicle on School Street while playing outside her home on Saturday afternoon.
The girl’s heartbroken mother, who didn’t want to speak on camera, says her daughter was a student at Park Avenue Elementary School and would have turned 11 in September. She also had three sisters.
“My daughter, my beautiful Marleigh, was taken from me far too soon in a tragic accident. I keep waiting to wake up from this nightmare, to hear her voice, to see her smile walk through the door… but that moment never comes. And that is a pain no mother should ever have to live with," she wrote in a GoFundMe to help raise money for funeral expenses.
Flowers could be seen placed on a telephone pole near the crash site, and police tape remained tied to a nearby mailbox.
“Marleigh was everything. She had the kind of light that you don’t come across often, the kind that made people feel safe, happy, and loved just by being near her. Her laugh was contagious, her heart was pure, and her presence made this world a better place. To know her was to truly love her,” the fundraiser continued.
Two witnesses at the scene told Boston 25 News they ran outside after hearing the crash. They said they saw the child lying in the roadway, with the car still stopped in the street.
“The child wasn’t moving at all. No one knew what to do,” Jason D’Andrea recalled.
D’Andrea said police arrived within minutes and immediately began life‑saving efforts.
“About eight to ten minutes after the call was made, police showed up and started chest compressions,” he said. “A minute or two later, the ambulance arrived, and they grabbed the defibrillator.”
The Worcester District Attorney’s Office said Marleigh Rose was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
D’Andrea also said drivers frequently speed along this stretch of School Street.
Family and friends of Marleigh Rose plan to gather for a candlelight vigil in her honor on Monday night at 535 School Street.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
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