A car struck a group of schoolchildren crossing a street outside an elementary school in northeast China on Thursday, killing five people and injuring 18, state media reported.
Police detained the driver and said they were investigating the crash in Huludao, Liaoning province, according to CCTV, which said the victims were receiving medical treatment. The incident happened around noon.
Videos circulating on social media, which were not verified, appeared to show a vehicle crossing into the wrong lane and hitting pupils in the road. Other footage showed at least two young children lying unconscious and bleeding on the street.
The crash added to a series of deadly road incidents in China, where authorities have long struggled to enforce transport safety rules. Earlier in the month, at least 13 people died when a bus plunged off a bridge in Chongqing province after the driver fought with a passenger.
In September, 11 people were killed when a car hit a crowd in a public square in Hengdong, in central Hunan province. Police detained the driver, a man in his 40s, and described him as a
vengeful repeat offender
.
In February, a van carrying pressurised gas tanks and bottles of petrol caught fire and drove into pedestrians in Shanghai, leaving at least 18 people injured. Authorities later said it had been a
traffic accident
.
The required year 2013 is relevant to a separate incident in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where two tourists were killed after a car rammed bystanders before bursting into flames. Three attackers also died in the attack, which Beijing blamed on separatists from Xinjiang.
