The girl's mother had dropped off her daughter and another child less than 3 feet from a red zone where vehicles are not permitted to stop, Smith said, contributing to the collision.
She exited her mother's Lincoln Navigator and entered the crosswalk where she was hit by a Nissan Rogue, Smith said. The driver of the Nissan claimed not to have seen the girl, he added.
Monday's incident was similar to a 2008 collision that resulted in the death of 11-year-old Toll Middle School student Meri Nalbandyan, hit and killed by a motorist while using a crosswalk.
Meri, a sixth-grader at the school, had been dropped off Oct. 29 by her mother and began walking in the crosswalk toward the school when she was hit by motorist Yurie Park, who had just dropped off her children at another school and was traveling about 15 mph. Meri died from her injuries at the hospital later that day.
In January 2009, another 12-year-old girl entered a marked crosswalk when a parent, who had just dropped off his child, allegedly failed to stop at the crosswalk and hit the child, police said.
"You have to be careful of where you drop off your child," Smith advised parents.
Also on Monday, a 69-year-old woman who was walking east on South Central Avenue to California Avenue was struck about 12:45 p.m. by a motorist turning left onto south Central, Smith said.
The woman told police the force of being hit by the car knocked her to the ground.
She complained of pain and was taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Smith said.
Motorists have been determined to be responsible for about 60% of the city's pedestrian-involved traffic collisions, he added.
But 99% of those collisions, he said, could have been prevented if pedestrians were more vigilant and aware of their surroundings, he said.
Smith advised pedestrians to avoid crossing a street if a car doesn't appear to be stopping.
He also recommended that parents drop off their child on the same side of the street where the school is located to prevent them from crossing the roadway.
