Leanna Herrera was only four years old—small, bright, full of the promise that comes with the earliest years of school—when a morning routine turned into a tragedy that has shaken the entire Jamestown community. The incident unfolded at 8:08 a.m. Monday at the intersection of Cole and Whitehill Avenue on the city’s south side, just steps away from Fletcher Elementary School.
A Panama Central School District bus, in the process of dropping off a student who attended an entirely different district, struck Leanna under circumstances investigators are still trying to understand.Police officers and first responders arrived within moments, immediately rendering aid as Leanna lay critically injured in the roadway.
Witnesses described the scene as chaotic yet heartbreakingly quiet, with officers working urgently in hopes of saving a life so young. She was quickly transported to UPMC Chautauqua, where medical teams fought to stabilize her. Despite their efforts, Leanna was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, leaving family members, classmates, teachers, and first responders devastated.
Authorities confirmed that no one aboard the bus—the driver or the student being dropped off—was physically injured. But the emotional toll has rippled far wider. Leanna, a Fletcher Elementary student, had been walking near the arrival area, a space that on any other morning is filled with children, parents, and the usual motion of a school day just beginning.
The investigation now involves multiple agencies, including the Jamestown Police Department, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Accident Reconstruction Team, and New York State authorities, all working to determine how the collision occurred and whether any mechanical issues, driver error, visibility factors, or procedural missteps played a role. Surveillance footage from nearby homes and buses is being reviewed, and interviews with witnesses are ongoing.
As officials piece together the moments leading up to the impact, the community is left mourning an irreplaceable loss. Fletcher Elementary has mobilized grief counselors, and families across Jamestown are struggling to explain to their own children how someone so young—someone just like them—could be gone in an instant. Leanna’s family now faces a reality no parent should ever endure, carrying forward a grief as immense as the life that was taken too soon.
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