'Honor her as best I could': Community honors 11-year-old girl killed in Raleigh parade

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Parents and their children visited Downtown Raleigh Sunday to place flowers at a growing memorial for the 11-year-old girl killed after she was accidentally hit by a truck towing a float during the Raleigh Christmas Parade.

Many in the Raleigh community are still trying to process the tragic incident that happened. The Triangle dance community was hit hard and with it, an outpouring of support for the CC and Company family.

Carolina Dance Center and Carolina Dance Studio Foundation extended their love and prayers. The president of the Foundation tells ABC11 that they're deeply affected by this tragedy, but are here to offer support.

Families described Saturday as a perfect day and said it quickly turned into a nightmare.

"The sun was shining, everything was perfect until it wasn't," Richard Stamps said.

Stamps said he was at the corner of Hillsborough Street during the parade and had no idea how bad it was until he saw Raleigh police officers passing by.

"Until I started to see RPD buzzing around on motorcycles, gators, and cars running something I knew terribly went wrong," he said.

Stamps who is a grandfather says he is heartbroken after hearing about the death of the young girl.

"When it's a child, I mean, that's tough. So I wanted to honor her as best I could given the circumstances of her family. I can't imagine how tough this is going to be for them and everybody who was right here," he continued.

Mother Tiffany Franch visited the memorial with her daughter to leave flowers. Franch works at a nearby coffee shop and also witnessed the accident.

"Which was very hard to watch, but today we're here, I'm a local and it's really cool to see everyone come together and really hold each other tighter," Franch said.

"The people that were close to her and have had to watch what had happened. They're gonna need prayer and some help. It's something you wouldn't even consider in your worst nightmare. But there it was, right in front of us," Stamps said.

Wake County Schools sent parents a letter outlining resources and tools available for children who witnessed Saturday's tragedy unfold. The district also stated they will have counselors and student services available at all schools this week.

In light of the tragedy that took place on Saturday morning, we wanted to provide you with resources and support to your child. All of our school's counseling and student services staff will be available this week if your child needs support while at school.

As a parent or guardian, we wanted you to know and give you the opportunity to decide if this is information you want to share. As you think about how to care for your child, there are some resources that you might find helpful to assist your child through this loss. WCPSS has partnered with Transitions GriefCare in hopes of better supporting our grieving families, students and staff members. Transitions GriefCare offers a range of support services to help children & teens explore, understand and express their grief. Their services are available to anyone in our community at no cost.

After a traumatic event such as the death of someone they are familiar with, we can expect students to feel anxious, sad, fearful, angry, or vulnerable. They may be scared of losing someone else close to them. Through encouraging discussion, being supportive of feelings, providing factual information and suggesting positive outlets, you can help your child be aware of and process their emotions. Every child is different, and the emotional response may vary in duration.

Again, if you are concerned about your child's response to this or any tragic event, reach out to the school counselor for additional resources and support.- Wake County Schools