<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>332010</docID> <postdate>2024-10-29 16:30:13</postdate> <headline>Child dies, more injured after car crashes into school</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-332011" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20220118001614347841-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="572" /></p> <caption>Emergency services were called to the school after a car crashed through a fence. (Luis Ascui/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Kaitlyn Offer</strong> and <strong>William Ton</strong> in Melbourne</span></p> <p><strong>An 11-year-old boy is dead after a woman picking up her son from a primary school crashed through a fence and into a group of children.</strong></p> <p>The boy died after being critically injured in the crash at Auburn South Primary School at Hawthorn East about 2.30pm on Tuesday, Victoria Police confirmed.</p> <p>Also seriously injured were two girls aged 11-years-old, one 10-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy who were all taken to hospital.</p> <p>The 40-year-old driver of the car has been arrested and will be interviewed by police.</p> <p>Inspector Craig McEvoy said after driving to the school to collect her child, the woman had performed a U-turn and collided with the fence.</p> <p>The car struck a table where the five children were seated.</p> <p>"It appears it is a tragic accident," Insp McEvoy told reporters at the scene.</p> <p>The woman and her child were not injured.</p> <p>The leafy street remains closed off as officers come and go from the area of impact and Public Order Response crews are also at the scene.</p> <p>Parent Lucy told radio station 3AW her son was friends with some of the grade five students and possibly a prep student hit by the car during recess.</p> <p>"We got a text message from the school just saying that Burgess Street closed and then we... actually drove past, and I just saw one police car," she said.</p> <p>"Then we just started hearing more and more police cars go down so I just raced down there."</p> <p>Lucy said she arrived at the scene to find parents hugging their children and each other.</p> <p>"It's just every person's worst nightmare and I just hope the children are okay," she said.</p> <p>Resident Don Owen told reporters the road could be busy with traffic, particularly at the start and finish of school, and cars sometimes sped by.</p> <p>The Department of Education said in a statement it was working closely with staff, students and parents of the school to support them.</p> </body>