A 12-year-old Eden Prairie girl died late Wednesday after she was hit by an SUV while walking her bicycle across a Chanhassen highway.

Aimee Marie Trudeau was crossing Hwy. 101 near Sandy Hook Road about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday when she was struck by a southbound vehicle, according to the Carver County Sheriff's Office.

Trudeau, who was wearing a helmet but not walking at a crosswalk, died about six hours later at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"Twelve years old is just far too young to die," Sheriff Jim Olson said.

Trudeau was a sixth-grader at Oak Point Elementary School in Eden Prairie, said Bob Noyed, a spokesman for the school district. A crisis intervention team was at the school Thursday, he said.

"It is always extraordinarily difficult when we lose a child for any reason," Noyed said. "The school and the school district are saddened by her loss and extend our thoughts to the family."

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Aimee Trudeau

The State Patrol is reconstructing the accident.

While Olson said he couldn't recall any recent pedestrian accidents in the area, he didn't underplay the highway's danger.

"Highway 101 is a busy, busy road," he said.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495