Grief counsellors spent Monday at the school of a Nova Scotia girl who died after she was run over by a van on the weekend.

Police say nine-year-old Olive Moore of Mount Pleasant had just been dropped off near a relative’s home when the van backed over her on Corkum Division in Pleasantville Saturday.

Neighbour Janice Cunningham arrived on the scene of the accident shortly after it happened.

“I saw the police car going, I heard all the noise,” she says. “The van was there and the boot was just laying there by the brook, the little girl’s boot.”

“She was subsequently transported to the South Shore Regional Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital,” confirms Lunenburg County RCMP Cpl. Dyson Smith.

People along Nova Scotia’s South Shore are expressing shock over the girl’s tragic death.

Albina Nowe lives across the road from where the incident occurred.

“We just couldn’t believe it. Everyone was devastated,” says Nowe. “Everyone was full of questions, but we’re just full of support for the family and we’re just there if they need help. But it’s just devastated everyone.”

“Well, everybody’s sad. When something like that happens to a little child, the whole community sort of goes together,” says neighbour Vida Herman.

The flag at Petite Riviere Elementary School, where Moore was a Grade 4 student, flew at half-mast today.

A crisis management team was also brought in to help students cope with the loss.

“When things like this happen, regardless if you have 7,000 kids in a system or not, it is just, it is heart-wrenching,” says South Shore Regional School Board spokeswoman Trish Smith.

“It’s absolutely been a difficult day for staff and students at Petite Riviere Elementary today.”

A 30-year-old Mount Pleasant woman was arrested at the scene for impaired driving in connection with the incident. Police say she knew the girl but aren’t saying how.

The woman has since been released from custody.

“We do anticipate charges will be laid. The exact nature of those charges is yet to be determined,” says Lunenburg District RCMP Sgt. Derek Smith.

Police say one of the charges is expected to be refusing a breathalyzer. A forensic investigation of the vehicle Tuesday will help determine whether other charges could be laid.

She is expected to appear in Bridgewater provincial court in March.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Garreth MacDonald