7-Year-Old In Halloween Costume Killed By Car

Tulsa Police have released the identity of a boy hit by a car in the 2100 block of North Harvard Wednesday morning.

Police say 7-year-old Elijah Rivers was in his Halloween costume when he stepped off the curb in front of a driver who didn't see him.

The accident happened on North Harvard at Virgin Street.

It was well before daylight Wednesday morning when the accident happened, just before 7 a.m.

Tulsa Police say the driver never saw the boy before she hit him.

The 7-year-old victim was with his 12-year-old sister, at the time.

"What we were told is that she didn't know why he stepped off the curb, but he did," said TPD's Corporal Justin Aldridge.

Rivers died at the hospital shortly after the accident.

He was walking to Celia Clinton Elementary, but he wasn't a student there. He was catching a bus to Lighthouse Charter School, where, Wednesday, the principal said, "We share the pain felt by so many and grieve with the family."

The accident happened at an intersection, but outside of a school zone, and not at a crosswalk.

There is a crosswalk and a crossing guard a half mile down the road, closer to the school.

The car involved was a Mercedes station wagon, but not all of the damage on the car was because of this accident. The driver had earlier hit a deer, according to authorities at the scene.

The fire department's first responders said the boy was wearing a dark colored Halloween costume, that would have been hard to see without daylight.

"If your child is wearing a costume, they need, take the time to make sure it's got reflective material on it if they're out at night. In this case, it was before the sun came up, and you've got to give those children that chance, give the driver a chance to see them," said TFD Chief Stan May

The driver was not ticketed by police.

Tulsa Public Schools superintendent Keith Ballard said that several Clinton students saw what happened, and that they would be talking to counselors at school Wednesday.