A 20-year-old driver said she was plugging in her cell phone Wednesday morning when she looked up to see a child in the path of her car, seconds before she hit him.

The child, 8-year-old Jaret Philbeck of Liberty, died of his injuries Thursday afternoon at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. He was crossing U.S. 27 to board a school bus that would have taken him to College Corner Union Elementary in this small Union County, Ind., town.

No charges have been filed against Jenna Hoke, also of Liberty, who told sheriff’s investigators she had just left her shift at a local store moments before the accident, Union County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Franklin said Thursday night.

The investigation is ongoing, he said.

According to preliminary findings, 66-year-old bus driver Gary Lore of Connersville said he had activated the vehicle’s yellow lights, but not the red lights, Franklin said. The bus was headed south on U.S. 27.

At about 7 a.m., Hoke was headed north, away from College Corner.

Hoke, Franklin said, “said she was plugging in cell phone and looked up and it was too late to be able to stop.”

The third-grader was struck by the right front of the small car, said Franklin, who noted that the speed limit in that area of the roadway was 40 mph. It’s too early in the investigation to say whether speed was a factor, he said. Investigators did find skid marks, Franklin said.

There were several children on the bus — 10, according to district Superintendent Zach Rozelle.

“They were all visibly shaken,” Franklin said. “I don’t know how much they’ve seen.”

Jaret was taken to McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford and then was transferred to Children’s in Cincinnati.

Franklin said the county prosecutor’s office will get the case once the investigation is completed.

Thursday, grief counselors were at the school, where students mourned the loss of their classmate.

Rozelle said Lore, who still was shaken by what happened, did not report for work.

“This community responds well to difficult circumstances,” Rozelle said. “The school is deeply saddened over the loss of a fellow student. We’re trying to come to terms with that and make sure everyone involved gets the help and support they need. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those involved.”

Five of the 10 students who were on the bus attend a Wednesday night children’s program at Liberty Church of Christ. Jason Davis, the youth minister there, said the students were having a “rough time” and were “shook up” Wednesday about what happened.

They prayed for Jaret and his family and made get-well cards for him and his family, Davis said.

— Staff Writer Richard Wilson also gathered information for this story.