BONAIRE, Ga. — It was a quiet and somber afternoon in the Riverbend North Subdivision on Tuesday.
Adults and children are still processing the news of a 9-year-old girl's tragic death. Neighbors tell us the girl was a twin.
The nine-year-old was killed by a motor grader. That's a large machine used for road work to break up hard ground and level it.
Several families in the neighborhood kept their kids home from school, because they were just too emotional to go to school, while others didn't know how to tell them about the passing of their friend.
Neighbors laid flowers near the site of the accident, attached with a note from a friend and a Christmas balloon.
It happened in an area with a lot of construction.
New homes are being built in Riverbend North neighborhood off Thompson Mill Road.
On several streets, you can see construction equipment where new roads are being put in, and new homes are going up.
As the neighborhood develops, one neighbor says their kids still have nowhere to play. The closest place is at Bonaire Primary School's playground, so often kids find places to roam through the neighborhood around the large vehicles.
Houston Sheriff's investigators tell us there were other children there when the accident happened Monday evening. So far, they are not releasing any information about how the accident happened, how many children were involved or whether keys were left in the grader.
The county EMA director says no other children were hurt.
Neighbors say they are still processing the news but plan to do something to help the family navigate through their loss.
We reached out to the builders of the subdivision, but have not heard back at this time.