Victoria Police have released a driver after a car crashed through a school fence, tragically killing a schoolboy and seriously injuring four others. The tragic incident occurred at Auburn South Primary School on Tuesday afternoon when a 40-year-old driver was collecting her child from school. The driver allegedly suffered a medical incident while attempting a U-turn, veering off the road and hitting a table on school grounds where young children were on recess.
The aftermath was described as frantic, with emergency services, locals and people from the school racing to help. An 11-year-old boy suffered critical injuries in the crash and died on the way to hospital. Two 11-year-old girls, a 10-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy were seriously injured and taken to hospital.
Three of the children were taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital and two to Monash Medical Centre. Police remained at the scene well into Wednesday morning, eventually removing a white Toyota RAV4 from the school property in the middle of the night. The driver, from Hawthorn East, was arrested and interviewed by detectives.
However, no charges were laid and she was released overnight pending further inquiries. The woman and child in the car were not injured. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan told Sunrise it was a “very, very sad day”.
“If I can at the outset provide my deepest condolences to the family and the school community who are grieving the loss of a beautiful little boy today,” she said on .