A toddler was struck and killed while crossing a Bellingham street with her mother after a teen driver rear-ended a car that had stopped for the pedestrians, police tell KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

The teen, a student at Bellingham High School, told officers she was distracted when her car hit the other vehicle Thursday afternoon near Assumption Catholic School, police said.

The 17-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide, police said. There were two other teens in the car when the accident happened.

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"All I saw was the little toddler, two or three years old," said Karen Coleman, a witness. "She went flying. I saw the mother run up to her and she fell to the pavement screaming."

The mother had just picked up two of her children at Assumption School at the corner of Cornwall and Virginia and was walking with them and her toddler, police said.

One car stopped for them, but another car driven by the 17-year-old rear-ended the stopped car, causing it to strike the toddler, police said.

Police believe she died almost immediately.

Police said they arrested the teenage driver after interviewing her.

"Statements made by the driver indicated they took their eyes off the road for a moment and was distracted," said Mark Young of the Bellingham Police Department.

Young said it wasn't immediately clear what caused the distraction.

"As far as whether there was a cell phone or not, we're going to get a search warrant and we're going to go through and look for any evidence," Young said.

No one was injured in either car.

The toddler's mother was injured slightly.