A child has died and four others remain in hospital with serious injuries after a car crashed into a school in Melbourne’s inner east.
Emergency services rushed to the collision that occurred just after 2.30pm on Tuesday afternoon at Auburn South primary school in Hawthorn East.
A spokesperson for Victoria’s Department of Education told Guardian Australia that a car had crashed through a school fence.
Police confirmed on Tuesday evening that one student had died in hospital, while four were being treated for “non-life-threatening injuries”.
“One boy, aged 11-years-old, was taken to hospital with critical injuries but he has since died,” police said.
Two 11-year-old girls, one 10-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy were also taken to hospital with serious injuries.
In a statement, police said the female driver had been arrested and would be interviewed by officers. No charges have been laid.
Police said the 40-year-old driver had driven to the school to collect a child, who was in the car at the time of the crash. The incident occurred when she performed a U-turn, crashed through a fence and into a table where five children were sitting.
A parent of a school student told 3AW radio that her son’s friends had been injured by the car crash, describing it as “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
“They were all out there and witnessed it happened,” the parent, only identified as Lucy, told the radio station.
She said she received a text message from the school alerting parents, then began seeing police cars as she drove to pick up her son.
“You could see all the parents racing down there to make sure they were OK,” she said. “Everyone with their children was just hugging each other, just supporting each other.”
Lucy said her son was “shaken up”.
Victoria’s education minister, Ben Carroll, said he was monitoring the “terrible incident unfolding at Auburn South primary school”.
I am monitoring the terrible incident unfolding at Auburn South Primary School. I’ve asked @VicGovDE to be on standby to provide whatever supports are needed.
I’ll be thinking of the whole school community in the days and weeks ahead.
— Ben Carroll (@BenCarrollMP) October 29, 2024
On X, Carroll said he had asked the department to provide the necessary support to the school community. “I’ll be thinking of the whole school community in the days and weeks ahead,” he said.
A spokesperson for the department said it was working with staff, students and parents to support them “during this deeply distressing time”.
“Our thoughts are right now with the entire Auburn South primary school community,” a statement said.
Victoria police said the major collision investigation unit detectives would be at the scene.
“It’s believed a vehicle was traveling along Burgess Street when it left the road and crashed through a school fence just after 2.30pm,” a spokesperson said.
Police said the cause of the incident was being investigated.
John Pesutto, the Victorian opposition leader who is also the member for Hawthorn, said on Tuesday afternoon that the incident was “simply devastating” and would come as a “painful shock” to the school’s tight-knit community.
“On behalf of the Hawthorn community, I express my sincerest condolences with the students who have been injured, their families and the broader school community,” Pesutto said.
