CANTON – A Stark Campus student was struck by a bus Tuesday and died early Wednesday morning, said Canton Police Sergeant L. Brown.

Paula R. Ford walked into the path of a Perry Local School Bus on Cleveland Avenue Northwest at 4:24 p.m. Tuesday, Brown said.

The Canton Fire Department took Ford to Aultman Hospital, where she died at 6:28 a.m. Wednesday.

Ford’s classes had been canceled that day, and she left her book bag on campus, said Julia Longstreth, cashier for Student Services at Stark.

Someone brought it in and asked Longstreth to watch the bag until Ford returned. They described Ford to her and she waited for her to return, thinking she would be back for classes.

“We were looking and looking,” she said.

When Ford did not return, the staff locked the bag in the office until morning. After hearing about the accident, Longstreth said someone checked the book bag, and it was Ford’s. It’s always sad to lose a student, she said.

This is Canton’s sixth fatality this year, Brown said. The Canton Police Department Traffic Bureau is investigating.

– Rachel Abbey