Decision to charge Jacinto City van driver in 9-year-old's death may come Thursday night

JACINTO CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- It's a tragedy that still has Pillot Street buzzing with grief. A boy was just feet away from his home when the woman who dropped him off hit him.

"He went around the front of the van, and the driver continued and struck the boy," Jacinto City Police Chief Joe Ayala explained.

ORIGINAL STORY: Van that dropped off 9-year-old boy hits and kills him, police say

The future of that driver is still up in the air. Jacinto City police say she was set to come in for an interview and questioning Thursday. They'll take that, along with surveillance video of the van strike and any other evidence, and present it to the Harris County District Attorney's Office on Thursday night. The district attorney will then decide if the woman will be criminally charged.

"Maybe if the driver would have paid more attention and made sure the child cleared the bus, this wouldn't have happened," Chief Ayala said.

The victim lived only a few blocks away from his school. Other parents reacted to the news of his death as they picked up their little ones.

"I couldn't really sleep because I was with the kids. It was really sad," Jacinto City Elementary parent Ingrid Mancillas said.

Neighbors told ABC13 that they don't have district busing in this area, so private transport vans are a normal way for some students to get to and from school. Eyewitness News called Galena Park ISD to get clarification on this process, but so far, haven't heard back.

Meantime, those who witnessed the van strike tried their best to hide the horrific scene.

"We ran inside to go get a blanket and throw it over so the kids wouldn't see what happened," neighbor Daniel Chairez said.

There were children in the van at the time of the hit on Wednesday, so they were understandably crying, upset and in need of a lot of support. Grief counselors were on hand for students and staff at Jacinto City Elementary.

Eyewitness News is giving the victim's family space to grieve.

For more on this story, follow Erica Simon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.