This story made me so sad to hear. The same thing happened when I was a kid growing up in Redwood Shores over 20 years ago. A young schoolgirl was struck and killed because the driver couldn't see through her windshield for a few moments when the sun caused a glare in the morning. It seems that it is an accident but is a reminder that walking can be so dangerous and you have to be always aware.

My heart goes out to the girl's family and the teacher...

It makes you wonder if it's safe to have crosswalks without a traffic light anymore, like the ones on el camino real. If there was a stoplight for each crosswalk, presumably motorists could see a red light and stop. Often a mid-block crosswalk is felt to be optional for drivers.. Same thing with the glare causing an accident happened to the mayor in the town where I grew up, but he was not going fast enough to seriously harm anybody, thankfully.

Drivers: if you can't see due to sun glare, SLOW DOWN. Sun glare may be the driver's excuse, but there is no excuse for not proceeding with extreme caution and continuing to go fast enough to run over and kill a child. My heart goes out to both the family and the driver, whom I hope has learned a valuable driving lesson.

Another plea to drivers: when you see a car next to you stop at a crosswalk, please also stop. I have seen many near misses on Santa Cruz Avenue and Woodside Road where one car stops for a pedestrian but the car in the next lane over does not. Pedestrians beware!

As a mother of children who are starting to embark out on their own, my biggest fear continues to be multi-tasking drivers and drivers who don't take road conditions into account.