Two boys die after car crashes into classroom

Two boys die after car crashes into classroom

A 52-YEAR-OLD woman has been charged with negligent driving causing death after her 4WD crashed into a southwest Sydney primary school, killing two young boys.

It’s believed she may have been distracted by something inside her Toyota Kluger before it broke through the weatherboard walls of the demountable classroom at Banksia Road Primary School in Greenacre on Tuesday morning.

Police confirmed the boys, both aged eight, suffered cardiac arrest and died in hospital.

Footage from the scene showed the car almost completely inside the classroom. There were 24 children aged between seven and 11 in the year three classroom at the time.

Police charged the driver, identified as Maha Al-Shennag, with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, driving in a dangerous manner and negligent driving.

She was granted conditional bail to appear at Bankstown Local Court on Wednesday, November 29.

Her lawyer Nick Hanna told The Daily Telegraph she was “deeply sorry for the loss and hurt suffered by the children, the school, the families and the community”.

“Her thoughts and prayers are with all those affected,” he said.

It’s understood police will allege the driver was “distracted by something in her car” before losing control.

Emergency crews responded at 9.45am, and arrived at the scene to find two children in cardiac arrest and another in a serious condition.

Two eight-year-old boys were critically injured and were unconscious when they were taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. The boys were pronounced dead in hospital.

Two eight-year-old girls were also taken to hospital in a stable condition, and one nine-year-old girl was hospitalised in a serious condition.

Seventeen children and one adult female teacher assessed on the scene.

The driver was uninjured at the scene but was taken to hospital for mandatory blood and urine tests, police said.

A witness reported seeing an elderly woman at the scene who appeared distressed.

Children who were inside the classroom at the time have described the frightening disaster to the Daily Telegraph.

A student named Tarek said he started crying when the car crashed into the classroom.

“The car crashed into the room ... I saw one of my friends faint ... I started crying. It sounded like a big pop,” he said.

Year four student Mariam Issmail was in a nearby classroom when the car smashed into the school.

“We were just doing work and all of a sudden we heard this big bang,” she told AAP.

Mariam said multiple schoolmates were injured, adding that twin girls were among those hurt.

“(Students) were screaming, saying they wanted their mum, I want help,” she said.

Mariam’s mother Khadige Issmail was at Bankstown when she heard the news. “Everything went blank,” she said.

An uncle of one of the students at the school said it was a tragedy to see what had happened.

“You’ve got mothers over there fainting, you’ve got paramedics dealing with all the mothers and everyone is just nervous that it’s their child,” Isaac Tayba told the Telegraph.

“Apparently I think she (the driver) drove in there and instead of maybe pressing the brake, she might have hit the accelerator but for me there should be no cars in the school.

“There’s no excuse — no mother or anyone should be driving a car in the school.”

While watching vision of the scene, Sydney radio presenter Ray Hadley was astonished.

“It’s gone completely into it,” he said. “The whole car’s inside the classroom.”

At least 10 ambulance crews rushed to the scene and a police investigation is under way.

A crime scene has been established by Bankstown police officers in attendance.

NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith told reporters at the scene: “Obviously, this is a very, very tragic event.”

Mr Smith said police were considering the incident a “crash investigation”.

“We are not looking at this as an intentional act,” he said.

Two ambulance chaplains have been brought in to the school to support victims, and officers said counselling would be offered to students.

NSW Ambulance superintendent Stephanie Radnidge said children were very distressed after the crash.

“They were crying, they were distressed, some were asking for their parents,” she said.

“It is very, very hard because we are parents ourselves, we are human beings.”

Frantic parents rushed to the school to collect children and check on their welfare.