Two die after car ploughs into school classroom

A CAR crashed into a Sydney primary school classroom yesterday, killing two eight-year-old boys and seriously injuring three children.

A sports utility vehicle smashed through the wooden wall of the school, where 24 children were in class with their teacher, police said. Three girls, two aged eight and another aged nine, were said to be in a serious or stable condition in hospital. Another 17 children and their teacher were treated for minor injuries.

New South Wales police believe the crash was an accident rather than a deliberate attack, and said the driver, a 52-year-old woman, while unhurt, was taken to hospital for blood and urine tests. She was later charged with two counts of dangerous driving.

Television images showed the car plough through the wall and stop completely inside the classroom, which was adorned with the children’s drawings and other pictures.

“Obviously it was a scene of carnage,” Stephanie Radnidge, a New South Wales state ambulance superintendent, told reporters at the scene.

Stuart Smith, NSW police acting assistant commissioner, said investigators were “not looking at this as an intentional act, it is a crash investigation”.

The driver was granted bail and will appear in court on Nov 29, according to a police statement.

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The number of children said to still be in serious condition in hospital after the car killed two of their classmates