Extra support has been sent to a primary school in Melbourne. After a car drove through a school fence killing one child and wounding four others.
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00:00You can imagine that this has been just such a devastating blow for this tight-knit community
00:07here.
00:08Just a short time ago, we heard from the Principal, Marcus Wicker, who paid tribute to the staff
00:15and parents who turned up and offered their support and comfort to their students in this
00:23absolutely unimaginable time.
00:25This is what he had to say.
00:27Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathy are with Jack's family and friends, and our thoughts
00:31are also with the four students who remain in hospital and, of course, their beautiful
00:35families.
00:37We are entirely focused as a community on the welfare of our students, staff and broader
00:43school community.
00:45I want to thank and acknowledge my wonderful staff and those parents who helped yesterday,
00:51including providing comfort to our children.
00:54Their courage and care can only be described as remarkable.
01:01I also want to thank the emergency services who were and continue to be so helpful and
01:06supportive.
01:08The response from our local community has been overwhelming, and I extend my heartfelt
01:13thanks to everyone who has reached out with such generous offers of support.
01:19This school community is so wonderful and strong, and together we will get through this.
01:25Our focus is now on supporting our school community, our children, families and staff.
01:33That's Marcus Wicker, who is the Principal of Auburn South Primary School here, and earlier
01:38on we have seen a steady stream of parents and also children laying flowers here just
01:45behind me.
01:46It's only metres away from this car, where this car actually crashed through a steel
01:51fence as well as a hedge and then went into the school grounds where these five children
01:58were sitting.
01:59So that 11-year-old boy, Jack, now he was critically hurt.
02:03Sadly, he died on the way to hospital.
02:06There were two girls aged 11 and a boy and a girl aged just 10 years old.
02:11They were also seriously hurt and taken to hospital.
02:15We have been told that their conditions have now improved to stable.
02:18In fact, one that was transferred to the Monash Hospital has now actually been sent in a stable
02:23condition to Dandenong Hospital.
02:26So that is some good news for the family involved there, but this clearly has been really a
02:32devastating time for all of this tight-knit community.
02:36We heard earlier from Jacinta Allen, the Premier of Victoria, and she says that there is going
02:41to be extra counselling support in the days and weeks and in fact even months after this
02:47terrible event for students.
02:50We know that there are an extra 20 relief teachers who have been brought in from neighbouring
02:54schools to assist staff, as well as dedicated counsellors from the Headspace Service, also
03:02a dedicated room and a drop-in service for students who might be wanting that additional
03:07comfort.
03:08And Ben Carroll, the Education Minister, has said that school is continuing today because
03:14they've been advised by counsellors that it's important to continue a structured and safe
03:19routine for these students at this particular time.
03:23However, it is going to be a very difficult thing for this school, as well as families
03:29around here, to be able to process.
03:31This is what Jacinta Allen, the Premier, had to say a little earlier.
03:35My deepest condolences are with the family who are grieving the loss of a beautiful little
03:40boy today, but also to the broader school community.
03:43I've got a little boy in Grade 5 at a local primary school, and I think we all felt just
03:49so sick to the stomach yesterday afternoon when we heard that news, and I think it's
03:53important that as we get support if we need it, to also reach out to others who we think
03:59might be struggling, because this is tough.
04:01This is really, really tough.
04:04That's the Premier, Jacinta Allen, speaking there earlier this morning, and we also heard
04:08from the Opposition Leader, John Pasuto, who happens to be the local member for Hawthorne,
04:13and he said this was a heartbreaking situation.
04:15It was every parent's worst nightmare, and also that his condolences are out to the family
04:22of little Jack, as they mourn the loss of their loved one.
04:27Now, police have actually released the 40-year-old female driver from Hawthorne East, pending
04:32further inquiries.
04:34She had been arrested yesterday after this crash, and police believe that she had picked
04:39up her child as well from Auburn South Primary School, and was attempting a U-turn when somehow
04:44the car veered off the road and crashed through the fence that I've mentioned already.
04:49Now, there was originally a suggestion from the Education Department, a spokesperson saying
04:54that they thought it might have been a medical episode.
04:56Police say it's still far too early to be able to determine whether or not that is the
05:00case.
05:01Police are obviously trying to piece together exactly what happened here, and they say that
05:07that could take many weeks to determine as well.
05:10So, at the moment, the students are back at school, but they are being offered a lot of
05:15counselling support here.