A 10-year-old Hamilton girl was struck and killed in Waterdown on Tuesday evening.

Police say it happened around 6:30 p.m., in the area of 528 Evans Rd., near Dundas Street East.

According to a police news release issued Wednesday morning, a 25-year-old driver was going southbound on Evans Road when the child ran out in front of his vehicle.

"The man stopped his vehicle along with other motorists and witnesses," police said in the news release. "They rendered medical assistance to the child until paramedics arrived."

It has definitely affected the small hamlet on the roadway. - Det. Const. Matt Hewko

Investigators say the girl was rushed to hospital, where she died.

"A tragic incident for the entire community to learn of and for everyone involved," Const. Steve Welton told CBC News in an email. "Our thoughts are certainly with the family and friends of the little girl right now."

Det. Const. Matt Hewko of Hamilton police's collision reconstruction unit called the incident a tragedy for the tight-knit community in the area.

"It has definitely affected the small hamlet on the roadway," he said.

Investigation still ongoing

Police say they will not release the child's name at the request of her family. The driver wasn't injured, and cooperated with the investigation, detectives say. Hewko said the driver was "absolutely" shaken up.

"The investigation is in its early stages however impairment has been ruled out," the news release reads. Hewko said that investigators are still trying to determine if speed was a factor. The roads were clear and dry at the time of the crash, he said.

Ed Kikauka told CBC News that he knew the victim as a friend of his granddaughter, who lives on Evans Road. The two would play together often, he said.

"She was just so very advanced for her age," Kikauka said. "She was like this loving big sister who was so friendly with everyone. You couldn't help but feel that she was a young girl who was destined to go places."

Kikauka says that he had often worried about a child being struck on that road, with no sidewalks or shoulders to be found, poor sight lines and a high volume of new housing going up in the area.

It's not uncommon to see people going 80 to 90 km/h in a 50 km/h zone there, he said.

"It's an absolutely drag strip," he said. "People have to be somewhere in a hurry, and they just don't care about the risk to someone's life."

Journalists arrested

Two cameramen, freelancer Dave Ritchie and Global News's Jeremy Cohn, were arrested at the scene. Cohn was released without charges, but Ritchie faces charges of obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest.

We are deeply concerned by the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a <a href="https://twitter.com/globalnews">@globalnews</a> journalist and another photographer in Hamilton today. —@troyreebglobal

Troy Reeb, who is the senior vice president of news for Corus properties including Global TV, addressed the situation on Twitter late Tuesday.

"We are deeply concerned by the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a Global News journalist and another photographer in Hamilton today," Reeb wrote. "While we are satisfied our employee … was unharmed and released without charge, the incident merits further investigation."

"We will be following up directly with Hamilton Police in the days ahead."

Ritchie also Tweeted about the incident, saying, "Thanks for the support, I have great relationships with many first responders. This was an isolated issue and I will be seeking resolution."

This is the city's ninth fatality involving a vehicle this year, and the second pedestrian death of 2017. Another pedestrian was also killed on the 403 yesterday.

Police had closed the scene in Waterdown for several hours for their investigation, but it has since reopened.

adam.carter@cbc.ca