BY CAROLINE grech

Grade 11 Woodbridge College student Catherine Tran was walking across Pine Valley Drive when she was hit by a bus making a left turn onto that street, police say.

Flags stood at half-mast Friday at the teenager's school.

Inside, the mood was sombre as students lined up in the foyer to sign a memory book, already full of messages, that will be given to her family.

On the memorial table, a picture of Catherine sat amidst roses, candles and teddy bears.

A group of male students each carefully placed single roses on the table next to her picture.

"I talked to her less than a week ago. It's all of a sudden. She was really nice and was a really happy person," Grade 12 student Simran Sihota said.

"It's not supposed to happen," Grade 12 student Jasmeen Grewal added.

"It's just so sad," said Sukhwinder Virdi.

"We're very shocked and our thoughts and prayers are with the family. This is a very tragic accident. Catherine was a lovely student," Woodbrige College principal Debra Conrad-Knight said. "It's very difficult for all of us. You just don't expect it."

A team of bereavement counsellors was at the school on Friday to help the 900 students cope with the tragedy.

"We're doing our best to help our students and staff work through this grieving process," Ms Conrad-Knight said.

Ms Tran enjoyed music, and played the flute and piano.

For Chi-lan Tran, who grew up with Catherine, the news of her death came as a shock.

"Catherine was the most amazing piano player. I remember looking up to her when I was young and saying, 'This is what I want to be like'. Her charismatic attitude and her sense of maturity made her a role model for all around her," Ms Tran wrote in an e-mail to the Citizen.

Erika Quach remembers Catherine sharing her lunch with her.

"She was so intelligent and such a bright girl, she didn't waste her life away worrying about things that didn't matter and she wasn't materialistic. She had a good future ahead of her and she had such a kind heart," Ms Quach said.

Catherine also loved to play badminton.

The scene of the accident one day later was adorned with bouquets of flowers.

On those bouquets were messages such as, "You'll always be in our hearts, we miss you".

A big, blue teddy bear also sits at the scene of the accident. The York Regional Police collision reconstruction unit spent much of the evening investigating the crash that happened at the intersection of Pine Valley Drive and Chancellor Drive.

The driver of the bus, a 42 year-old Toronto man, started to make a left turn to travel southbound on Pine Valley Drive. At the same time, Catherine was crossing in the intersection, police say. As the bus turned left, it struck Catherine.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The distraught bus driver was taken to hospital and treated for shock, police said on the scene late Thursday.

The incident is under investigation. Police are appealing for witnesses to call the collision reconstruction unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7704, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

-with files from Monique Roopanram