AUGUSTA, Ga. — A third-grade student in McDuffie County suffered critical injuries when he was struck by a pickup truck while trying to board a school bus.

Georgia State Patrol Trooper Willie Ramsey said 8-year-old Cassius Walker was hit Tuesday morning on Mesena Road. The Augusta Chronicle reported that Walker was listed in critical condition at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital.

He attends Thomson Elementary School.

Almost three dozen students on the bus at the time met with counselors and clergy at Thomson High School after the accident.