When a police officer spotted the stolen Jeep Liberty on Thursday afternoon, Steuart Hill Academic Academy was dismissing students just three blocks away. 
 
 As the officer made a U-turn and turned on her lights, the Jeep sped off down South Gilmor Street toward the elementary school. It barreled through a red light at Lombard Street, struck a Nissan Sentra, brushed a crossing guard, and hit and killed an 8-year-old girl, police said. 
 
 Amirah Kinlaw was in third grade and lived near the school. Police said she died at Johns Hopkins Hospital. 
 
 "She was all smiles," said her stepfather, Leon Carter. "She had no worries, no cares." 
 
 She was walking to an after-school program when hit. The Jeep continued down Gilmor Street, hitting several cars before coming to a stop. Police said the driver ran away. 
 
 "The only thing we know about him at this moment is he was a young black man in blue jeans," Detective Donny Moses said. "The ignition on [the Jeep] was popped. It was confirmed stolen." 
 
 Courtesy of Kinlaw's family Amirah Kinlaw was struck by a car and killed while leaving school. Amirah Kinlaw was struck by a car and killed while leaving school. (Courtesy of Kinlaw's family) (Courtesy of Kinlaw's family) 
 
 The driver was still being sought Thursday evening. 
 
 "I was going to chase him down, but he was gone," said Charles Hennson, who was standing with a friend by the street when the Jeep passed. "If it was 30 seconds before that, it would have been us." 
 
 The Sentra smashed into Pat Giroux's parked Toyota 4Runner. 
 
 "We heard the crash," Giroux said. "We came over here, and there was a young girl laying on the grass." 
 
 Soon paramedics arrived. "They kept pressing on her heart for a long, long time," Giroux said. 
 
 A man in the Nissan Sentra was hospitalized in critical condition, police said. The crossing guard was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Flying debris hit a 9-year-old boy whose injuries also were not life-threatening. 
 
 But it was the little girl, killed outside her school, that hushed neighbors at the scene. 
 
 "I just hope for the little girl," said Giroux before falling silent and covering her heart. She did not know the girl had died. "A lot of kids were crying." 
 
 Inside the school, police spoke with witnesses in the office. That night, friends gathered to mourn at the family's home. 
 
 "To wrap it all up and swallow it, I ain't got there yet," said Carter, the stepfather. 
 
 Next week the school year ends for summer. So April Carter told her daughter she could stay home a day this week. 
 
 Amirah wouldn't consider it, her mother said. "She wanted to see her friends." 
 
 Thursday afternoon, neighbors reported a suspicious Jeep circling the neighborhood about 2:20 p.m., police said. An officer on patrol passed the Jeep in the 300 block of S. Gilmor St., about three blocks from the school. 
 
 While the officer had turned to try to stop the Jeep, police said it was not a chase. 
 
 "We do not believe that this was a pursuit," Moses said. "We have several independent witnesses that confirmed it." 
 
 The officer "never had the chance" to pursue, he said. "Bottom line: We don't chase, school zone or not. We don't chase stolen autos." 
 
 Shattered glass, a sheared-off side window, ripped fenders and bumpers lay scattered in the grass outside the school. The crossing guard's hand-held stop sign lay at the curb. 
 
 And in the middle of the street, encircled by the police paint that marks evidence, lay a small, black sneaker. 
 
 Baltimore Sun reporter Jessica Anderson contributed to this article. 
 
 tprudente@baltsun.com ||||| BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A 14-year-old boy is in custody and will be charged in relation to the crash that killed a nine-year-old girl outside her school Thursday afternoon. 
 
 He will be charged as a juvenile with vehicular manslaughter and other charges, according to Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith. 
 
 “This kid is 14, made a horrible, horrible, horrible mistake, made a horrible, horrible decision, and it’s two lives for two young people that are forever damaged,” Smith said. 
 
 Investigators say the 14-year-old suspect sped off in a stolen Jeep through a red light, just as class was letting out at Steuart Hill Academy in Southwest Baltimore. An officer had attempted to stop him. 
 
 “The officer did not pursue the vehicle. Within about 30 seconds, the driver of the vehicle crashed into several people and vehicles, killing Amirah Kinlaw,” said Smith. 
 
 The teen then struck a vehicle and hit third grader Amirah Kinlaw, who later died from her injuries. 
 
 “I got a little relief I found out about the arrest was made. The pain is still alive, but it’s not as much as it was since the beginning,” said Leon Carter, father. 
 
 Still driving, police say the teen slammed into several parked cars before he bailed out and ran. 
 
 Police found the teen less than 24 hours later. He had injuries related to the crash, Smith says. 
 
 Redd Rodriguez told WJZ the 14-year-old is her daughter’s friend. 
 
 “He’s really remorseful,” she said. “He’s a little boy, but he’s facing grown man charges.” 
 
 Two other people who were hurt in the crash have been released from the hospital. A third person is still being treated. 
 
 “I just want him to grow up to be somebody important and not to be another statistic or another number or a degree to disqualify him as a man that he is,” said Carter. 
 
 The community has built a memorial for Kinlaw outside Steuart Hill Academy. 
 
 “My heart is very heavy today,” said Principal Tanyaneka Lipscomb, who remembers Kinlaw as a gifted student who put others ahead of herself. “Amirah Kinlaw is a star student. She was an example of being a star. She persevered through challenges of others, her peers, she helped them.” 
 
 There will be a vigil for Kinlaw outside the school on Saturday afternoon. 
 
 Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook ||||| A 14-year-old boy will be charged with vehicular manslaughter for driving the stolen car that fatally struck an 8-year-old Baltimore girl, police said Friday. 
 
 Amirah Kinlaw was walking home from school Thursday afternoon when the teen — who police have not publicly identified — plowed a car into the third grader, Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith said at a press conference. 
 
 The boy, who police picked up within 24 hours of the collision, was transported to the hospital for minor injuries after he was taken into custody. 
 
 Once he’s released from the hospital, he will be facing vehicular manslaughter, auto theft and a “host of other traffic-related charges,” Smith said. 
 
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 Because of his age, the law prohibits him from being prosecuted as an adult. 
 
 Amirah Kinlaw was killed in Baltimore by a teenage driver in a stolen car. (April Lewis/Facebook) 
 
 The fatal chain of events began when an officer was called to the 1700 block of Ramsey Street for suspicious activity. 
 
 A complainant reported that someone was driving a Jeep Liberty up and down the street — and that the vehicle may have been stolen. 
 
 After canvassing the area, the officer located the vehicle — just blocks away from Steuart Hill Academic Academy. The cop tried to pull the vehicle over but, Smith said, “The driver of that Jeep Liberty immediately accelerated at a high rate of speed from the location.” 
 
 The officer did not follow in pursuit — but about 30 seconds later the car careened into people and parked vehicles, ultimately killing 8-year-old Amirah Kinlaw and injuring several others. 
 
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 Police have not yet publicly identified the 14-year-old who careened into children, adults and parked cars Thursday afternoon. (Fox 5 News) 
 
 The teenage suspect jumped out and fled on foot, but police later identified him using surveillance footage. 
 
 Kinlaw was taken to Johns Hopkins Pediatrics, where she soon died. 
 
 A 9-year-old boy and a female crossing guard were also taken to the hospital, but with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. 
 
 Another driver was transported to the hospital in critical condition, police said. 
 
 “It’s a tragic way to end the school year,” Smith said.
– A 14-year-old boy is facing vehicular manslaughter charges after police say he stole a Jeep and hit an 8-year-old girl who was just leaving school Thursday in Baltimore, the New York Daily News reports. According to the Baltimore Sun, police tried to stop the stolen Jeep just three blocks from the school, but it sped off. “We don't chase, school zone or not," Det. Donny Moses says. "We don't chase stolen autos." Thirty seconds later, the Jeep plowed into people and parked cars outside Steuart Hill Academy. A crossing guard, a 9-year-old boy, and another driver were injured. But 8-year-old Amirah Kinlaw was killed. "She was all smiles," Amirah's stepfather, Leon Carter, tells the Sun. "She had no worries, no cares." The driver ran off but was later identified as the 14-year-old through surveillance footage, police say. His identity has not been released. “This kid is 14, made a horrible, horrible, horrible mistake, made a horrible, horrible decision, and it’s two lives for two young people that are forever damaged,” a police spokesperson tells CBS Baltimore. In addition to vehicular manslaughter, the teen faces a variety of other charges, including auto theft. He won't be prosecuted as an adult. “He’s really remorseful,” says Redd Rodriguez, whose daughter is friends with the boy. “He’s a little boy, but he’s facing grown man charges.”