An employee of Hornsyld School, near Hedensted municipality, was killed on Friday in a traffic accident in Horsens. He was accompanied in the car by four students from the same school, aged between 7 and 10, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Danish TV2.
The accident occurred around midday when the car carrying the employee and the school students collided with a truck on Vejlevej Road.
Possible causes of the fatal collision
Danish police described the incident as unusual and explained that they had begun a technical investigation with the help of a traffic accident expert.
Halfdan Kramer, the duty chief of the Southeast Jutland police, told the newspaper Horsens Volkblad that there was an initial hypothesis suggesting that the driver may have felt suddenly unwell moments before the collision.
Although TV 2 failed to obtain a direct comment from the police, the Ritzau news agency quoted the same official as saying that the four children did not suffer any physical injuries, but the incident was violent enough to leave a psychological impact on them.
Activating the school's emergency response plan
Following the incident, the school administration decided to activate the crisis response plan and provide psychological support to the affected students and staff.
Morten Kirk Jensen, head of education for the Heddenstead municipality, told TV2 that the school has a clear plan for dealing with such tragic situations. He added that specialists have been called in to help provide support in the coming days, not only to the children who were in the car, but also to their classmates and teachers.
The employee was on an agreed-upon assignment.
The official indicated that the employee was on a pre-arranged assignment when the accident occurred, transporting children for a school-related purpose.
For his part, the school principal, Finn Gatten, declined to comment on the details of the incident at this time. The families of all those involved have been notified immediately.
