Fern White-Parker was on her way to teach at Costano Elementary School on Sept. 28 when she struck East Palo Alto girl Sioreli Torres shortly after 8 a.m.

Torres, a Green Oaks Academy student, was crossing Bay Road at Gloria Way on her way to school when she was struck, according to police. Her mother and two younger sisters were a few feet behind her in the crosswalk.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said his office worked with the East Palo Alto Police Department to complete a thorough and detailed investigation of the incident, which included interviews with dozens of witnesses.

Wagstaffe called the incident a “tragic case,” but said the evidence did not suggest that White-Parker had committed vehicular manslaughter or broken any other laws.

Torres’ family has been informed of the district attorney’s decision, Wagstaffe said.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The girl was crossing Bay Road at Gloria Wayin a crosswalk a few feet ahead of her mother and two younger sisters shortly after 8 a.m. when she was struck by an eastbound car, East Palo Alto police spokeswoman Veronica Barries said.

“She was on her way to school,” Barries said.

KCBS’ Matt Bigler Reports: [audio_link url="http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/nyc.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d0/dY/dT/dF/d3/YTF3_4.MP3" name="Teacher Hits And Kills A 7-Year-Old Girl In East Palo Alto" artist="Matt Bigler"]

The girl, a student at Green Oaks Academy whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, Alisha Whiteparker, 49, of East Palo Alto, was on her way to teach at Costano Elementary School, Barries said.

She stopped at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

It is not yet clear what caused the accident.

“It’s still all under investigation,”Barries said. “We’re taking a lot of things into account at this point.”

The tragedy came less than three hours after a motorcyclist was killed a block away, at Bay Road and University Avenue, when he was struck by a driver fleeing from police.

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The chase began after police responded to a 5:25 a.m. call from a resident of the 400 block of Bell Street who believed someone was trying to break into her home.

“She heard voices in her backyard,”Barries said.

Officers went to the neighborhood and spotted a dark-colored Land Rover and tried to pull it over, but the driver sped away, she said.

A brief chase followed, ending when the Land Rover struck the motorcyclist while traveling the wrong way on University Avenue, Barries said.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released but Barries said he was an adult male.

Police detained several people in the Land Rover for questioning, and arrested the driver, identified by Barries as 46-year-old Eric Banford, of East Palo Alto.

Barries said Banford has an extensive criminal history.

She said the Police Department will investigate the circumstances of the chase and crash.

“Our basic protocol is to conduct an investigation not only on the actual crime itself but on the pursuit,”Barries sasid.

She said it appears the chase lasted less than 30 seconds, and that investigators will review footage from cameras inside the police cars involved.

There was speculation that Wednesday morning’s second accident could have been related to the street closures prompted by the first crash, but Barries said that appears not to be the case.

The deaths have shaken the community.

“It’s a tragic event, both the motorcycle accident and the 7-year-old,” East Palo Alto Mayor Carlos Romero said.

Ravenswood City School District board member Saree Mading said district officials sent out an email updating faculty and staff on the situation.

“It’s a small community. I know the teacher personally,” Mading said.

Grief counselors are being made available to students, faculty and staff Wednesday, Mading said.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Last year the Dalai Lama visited a San Francisco soup kitchen that feeds the homeless.

KCBS’ Mike Colgan Reports:
[audio_link url="http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/nyc.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d0/dV/dS/dW/d2/VSW2_4.MP3" name="Dalai Lama Answers South Bay Kids’ Questions" artist="Mike Colgan"]

Wednesday, he’ll be speaking to a group of eighth graders from low-income families at Costano Elementary School in East Palo Alto.

“He’s very fond of he organization that we run because he believes, as we do, that there are a lot of people on this planet who are simply forgotten,” said organizer Tom Nizario with the SF-based group The Forgotten International. “Often they’re impoverished and you see them on the street, but they’re as important as anybody else and we need to spend time with them. So we try to expose his Holiness to some of the people that he ordinarily wouldn’t get to see.

Nizario says students have prepared ten questions to ask the Dalai Lama, including: What do you miss most about Tibet? How was your life as a little boy before the Chinese Government came in and took over that area of the world? What would you like to do most before you pass?

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)