A Primary 1 pupil in Wuhan, China, died after being hit by a teacher’s car in the school compound on Tuesday.

The child, whose name was not mentioned in local media, succumbed to injuries after being taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

The accident, which happened at Hongqiao Primary School in Hanyang district, occurred nine minutes before the first class in the afternoon, according to the Hanyang district Education Bureau and the school.

The driver, who has been identified as a teacher in his 20s, is assisting the police with investigations.

The child is not one of the teacher’s pupils, said the Education Bureau.

On the day of the accident, the child was having lunch in school, said the child’s mother in a video interview published on Chinese news site The Paper.

At 2pm, she received a call from the head teacher informing her that the child had been hit by a car.

She rushed to the hospital, where she was told doctors were unable to save her child.

The child’s parents questioned if the teacher was under the influence of alcohol.

Reports said that the teacher had a class that morning and did not drink during lunch.

He later drove his car from an underground garage and stopped about 10m away from the school gate to wait for a colleague. They were meant to attend a training session off-campus.

At that time, the pupils were having a short break before starting afternoon classes at 2pm.

“When the teacher stopped his car, a child ran in front of the vehicle and squatted down, and he stayed there for about two minutes,” said a representative from the Education Bureau in the video interview.

When the teacher moved his car after his colleague joined him, he hit the pupil, the representative added.