An 8-year-old girl died Saturday after falling from a bridge over a highway in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, in an apparent murder-suicide attempt by her mother, police said.

The girl was identified as Yuka Hatanaka, from the city of Kariya. She was in the second grade of elementary school. The woman's identity was not immediately released.

The woman, 39, was stopped from jumping by a passerby. The police quoted her as saying "I pushed my daughter off the bridge."

The police were questioning her on suspicion of murder.

According to witnesses, the two were spotted trying to get over the bridge railing at around 3:05 p.m. The girl fell 17 meters, hitting an embankment along the Sanage Green Road.

Although she was rushed to a hospital, the girl was later pronounced dead, the police said.

The mother was not wearing shoes at the time of the incident, according to a witness.