A 17-year-old student was struck by a vehicle and killed Tuesday morning near Chamberlain High School in Tampa.

According to Tampa police spokesperson Andrea Davis, Alexis Miranda was struck by a car as she crossed Busch Boulevard near the school at 7:15 a.m. Miranda died at the scene.

"We were like, what were we supposed to do? We’re in a busy road and she’s on the floor like, and we didn’t know what to do," said Miranda's friend Destiny Ward. "But then four cars cornered us and had stopped traffic. Two were nurses. One checked her pulse. Her pulse was there but by the time the ambulance came it was done. It was done."

Ward said she was only a few feet away from Miranda when she was struck and killed.

Dozens of people gathered near the intersection on Tuesday night with candles, pictures and t-shirts next to a roadside memorial.

The accident occurred about two blocks west of North Boulevard. Miranda was not at a crosswalk when she attempted to cross westbound Busch Boulevard, Davis said. She was in the middle of two turning lanes when she was struck by a 1992 Cadillac, Davis said.

Davis said the driver of the car, 33-year-old Belovedofgod Chiza Ndegwa, was distraught. Davis said it was not immediately clear how fast the vehicle was going at the time of the crash.

Police said Ndegwa may have been attempting to pass another car when he struck the teen.

"The driver was driving in the double turn lane, apparently, trying to pass other cars. Either he was impatient because they were not going fast enough or traffic was stopped," Davis said. "He is cooperating, he is very upset, he did stop about a block up and stayed on the scene."

Police say Alexis Miranda was crossing Busch Boulevard and was not in a crosswalk when she was hit by a car.

Surveillance video from a local business captured the crash and is being analyzed, Davis said.

Ndegwa, 33, of Port Republic, Maryland, has not been charged, but detectives have not ruled out criminal involvement.

"There were multiple witnesses to the crash," Davis said. "She was not crossing in the crosswalk and the driver was driving in the double turn lane. We have to see if that meets the criteria for a criminal act in this case."

Police say Miranda was a non-traditional student at Chamberlain High, enrolled in a daytime GED class.

Her friends described her as a nice girl who was trying to get a better education.

Superintendent Jeff Eakins visited the school after hearing the news.

"She was in our GED program here at Chamberlain, certainly trying to better her life," he said.  "And so we’re family here at Hillsborough County schools. It affected many people today."

Driver's license history being investigated

Since 2012, Ndegwa received 14 citations for traffic offenses in the state of Maryland, according to records.

At least nine of the infractions were for driving without a valid license or driving on a suspended license, records indicate. Five citations were issued speeding.

His last infraction in Maryland was in September 2014 for driving with a suspended license.

Tampa police are investigating Ndegwa’s current driving status, and whether his Maryland driver's license was valid at the time of Tuesday morning's accident.