Young girl killed when Georgia monument falls on her

BLACKSHEAR, Ga. - A 5-year-old girl died Monday after a stone monument fell on her while she was playing.

Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright say that Bella Bennett had been playing with her 8-year-old sister on, and around, the monument outside Lee Street Resource Center when the accident happened.

Wright told News4Jax that at some point, the 300-pound stone toppled over, landing on the younger sister. The girl was airlifted to Wolfson Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The station reported that the girls lived near the building where the accident occurred.

Bella Bennett had just started kindergarten at Blackshear Elementary.

Mandy Williams, assistant principal at the school, told the station that the kindergartner loved animals, especially horses, and playing with her sister.

"That was one of her favorite things to do," said Williams, who has known the girl since she started preschool. She said the 5-year-old was always excited to be at school.

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