BELLE CHASSE - A child who'd just been dropped off by their school bus was hit by a dump truck on a Belle Chase area highway Wednesday evening.

According to Louisiana State Police, the nine-year-old was dropped off at their bus stop on LA Hwy 23 near Danos Lane, and in harmony with routine procedure, the bus extended its stop signs and activated its flashing lights.

Despite these alerts, a 1989 Ford dump truck approaching from the rear and driven by 61-year-old Gregory Valentine of Donaldsonville, was on track to crash into the back of the school bus.

To prevent this from happening, Valentine swerved to the right and in so doing, collided with the nine-year-old.

The youngster was seriously injured and rushed to a local hospital.

Police say they do not believe Valentine was impaired, but they followed routine procedure and collected a voluntary blood sample from him; results of the standard toxicology test are pending.

Valentine was charged with negligent injuring, reckless operation of a vehicle, and driving with a suspended license.

Police say the crash is still under investigation.