Support promised for all affected by Melbourne fatality

ABC NEWS (Australia)

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.

Transcript

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.

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