The father of a six-year-old girl who was killed by a transit train in Calgary is speaking out about what happened that morning.

Jeff Ogbeide’s daughter Efua was struck by a CTrain near the Somerset-Bridlewood station in the city’s southwest before 8 a.m. on Monday. Police said the little girl was crossing the tracks when she became confused by the bells and lights signalling an approaching train and ran back in front of the vehicle’s path.

Efua was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Ogbeide said his daughter wandered outside while his wife was preparing their children for school that day.

“My wife was getting her ready for school. She went upstairs to get her [Efua’s] school bag and when she came back the door was open. She called on her – no answer. So she came out looking for her everywhere,” he told CTV Calgary on Tuesday. “She couldn’t find her.”

The little girl’s mother saw the school bus that her daughter takes each morning out front and waved at it before it left, Ogbeide said. Unsure if her daughter was actually on the vehicle, Ogbeide said his wife asked him to call the school to ensure she was there. When no one answered the phone, Ogbeide drove to the school.

“I got to the school and they said she was not on the bus and she’s not at school,” he said.

Ogbeide said his wife drove over to the scene of the accident at the train station, located a short distance from their home, and discovered their daughter had been hit.

“It's really hard,” he said. “My little girl is gone.”

Ogbeide said his daughter never left home on her own before and that she wasn’t allowed to walk alone.

“She did not go to school all by herself. My daughter doesn't go to school by herself," he said

The Calgary Catholic School District confirmed to The Canadian Press that Efua attended St. Jude elementary school in the Woodbine neighbourhood.

A spokesperson for the district said a letter was sent home to families to tell them about the accident. She also said a critical incident response team has been sent to the school to provide counselling to students and staff.

Ogbeide said their family is still trying to come to terms with what happened.

“My daughter is an angel,” he said. “She’s a very loving, beautiful girl. As you can see I love her dearly. We love our children dearly.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the girl’s family.

With a report from CTV Calgary’s Jordan Kanygin