The boy was to be charged with criminally negligent homicide, Officer Doris Garcia said. Police were withholding his name because of his age, she said.
Amber Sadiq was crossing the street near her school Monday afternoon when she was struck by the bus in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Police believe the boy was alone on the bus, Garcia said.
"She tried to run but the garbage can was in the way," said 12-year-old Kassandra Polanco, who saw the bus bearing down on the girl.
Investigators believe the driver got off the bus and secured it but the boy may have gotten inside through the back door, an emergency exit that cannot be locked, police spokeswoman Detective Theresa Farello said.
A woman who saw what was happening jumped into the bus, but was unable to stop it in time, police said.
Deli worker Sam Ahmad said he saw the girl under the bus and called emergency services. He said he and about a dozen other men tried to lift the yellow bus to free her but it was too heavy, the AP reports.
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