RCMP have released the name of the nine-year-old girl who died after she was struck by a suspected drunk driver on Saturday.

Olive Moore was hit by a minivan as it was backing up in the Pleasantville area of Lunenburg County near 12 p.m. The 30-year-old woman who was driving was arrested at the scene. Police are investigating whether alcohol was a factor in the incident.

Staff at the school Moore attended, Petite Riviere Elementary, lowered flags to half mast on Sunday.

That woman has since been released from police custody.

RCMP say the girl had been dropped off at a home on Corkum Road in Pleasantville when she was hit while standing near the van as it left.

Cpl. Dyson Smith says the victim and driver were known to each other, but would not elaborate.

RCMP Cst. Ted Munro was on the scene Sunday. He said police are still looking for answers.

"We don't know if she slipped under the vehicle, or tried to get back in the vehicle, we really don't know," he said. "But she ended up being run over by the vehicle."

'Tight-knit' community devastated

Staff at the school Moore attended, Petite Riviere Elementary, lowered flags to half mast on Sunday out of respect for the girl's memory.

Trish Smith, communications manager for the South Shore Regional School Board, said classes will go ahead on Monday but that additional support services and counsellors will be brought in to help students and staff deal with the tragedy.

"We also make sure the administration and the staff in the middle and the high school are also prepared because this is going to have a huge domino effect with how this resonates throughout this community," said Smith.

"It's rural Nova Scotia, so there's family members all over the place, there's close friends, it's a very tight-knit community so the effect will be quite wide-spread."

With files from Canadian Press