Three dead and 15 injured as Chinese ‘would-be suicide driver’ crashes vehicle into students outside school
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 19 January, 2016, 4:16pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 19 January, 2016, 6:36pm
Stephen Chen
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Three people died and 15 others were injured after a high-speed vehicle crashed into a group of people outside a high school in Yichun, in Jiangxi province on Tuesday morning. Photo: China Central Television
Three Chinese people were killed and 15 others injured on Tuesday morning after a vehicle, reportedly driven by a man trying to commit suicide over gambling debts, crashed at high speed into a crowd of pedestrians and cyclists outside a school, mainland media reports.
Most of the dead and injured following the incident at 7.15am in Fengxin county, in Yichun city, Jiangxi province, were students at the county’s largest high school, China Central Television reported.
Victims lie dead in the road after the crash, which local residents claimed was caused when the driver of the vehicle tried to commit suicide after losing his money from gambling. Photo: China Central Television
Two of the injured are in a critical condition, the county government said.
The driver of the white sports utility vehicle has been detained by police, but the authorities did not reveal any motive.
However, The Beijing News reported that when local residents opened the door to the car they saw a man crouched on the driver’s seat with a stomach wound and a knife in his right hand.
The residents told the newspaper the man had lost his money while gambling and claimed he tried to commit suicide and had chosen to take revenge on innocent people.
Local witnesses said that a white SUV crashed into a group of people outside the school while travelling “very fast”.
The report also quoted witnesses saying that the vehicle did not appear to slow down after colliding with the first victims.
The vehicle continued along the road for about one block before crashing and coming to a stop on its side.
The cause of the incident is being investigated, the county government said.
