A car plowed into a group of children outside a primary school in Beijing Wednesday, leaving one child dead and three injured.

The accident took place at about 11:30 a.m. when the children were waiting for their parents outside the Xixin Primary School in the suburban Shunyi District after morning classes, witnesses said.

The car crashed into a tree after hitting the crowd.

Four pupils were injured and rushed to hospital, where a 6-year-old boy later died. Three other boys suffered minor injuries and had been discharged, a police spokesman said.

An initial investigation showed the driver, who had gone to the school to pick up the child of his elder sister, mistakenly pressed the accelerator when he meant to brake, the spokesman said.

Police are continuing to investigate the case, he said.