Chamberlain student hit, killed by car

A deadly combination of circumstances may have cost a high school student her life Tuesday morning, Tampa police said.

Alexis Miranda, 17, was on her way to Chamberlain High School and was crossing Busch Boulevard. She made it to the center turn lane when a car, driven by Belovedofgod Ndegwa, 33, hit and killed her.

"The driver was driving in the double-turn lane apparently trying to pass other cars," said Andrea Davis, a spokesperson for Tampa police. "Either he was impatient because they were not going fast enough, or traffic was stopped. We're still trying to determine that. He is very distraught and he did stop. But potentially that could be a contributing factor."

Investigators are looking at surveillance video and witness statements to try to determine if Ndegwa will be charged with a crime.

Police said Miranda was not in a crosswalk and was about two blocks from the intersection of Busch and North boulevards, which is where the school is located.

The teenager was a part-time student at Chamberlain and was in a program, with about 25 other students, that would have allowed her to get her G.E.D.

Superintendent Jeff Eakins said it was a difficult day at the school.

"It just reminds us how precious every single one of our students' lives are," he said. We have to make sure that every day they do their part getting here safely. We take care of them here at school and then we just ask and implore all the drivers on the roads to be cautious and watch for our kids in the morning and the afternoon hours."

"We took a moment of silence, of course, and just recognize that we should be more careful and not just hop out in front of cars," said Zack Rodriguez, a student at Chamberlain. "This is really opening my eyes to use the crosswalks more often instead of just darting out in traffic."

This was not Ndegwa's first traffic issue. He has been ticketed more than a dozen times between Maryland and Florida, mostly for speeding and running red lights.