The driver of a minivan has been arrested for killing three students and a pedestrian and injuring 20 others in a road accident in northeast Beijing.

The driver, surnamed Liang and from the city of Chengde in Hebei Province, was found involved in unlicensed driving with fatigue, the municipal publicity department said in a press release.

The accident occurred around 6:40 a.m. Thursday as a minivan went out of control and crashed into a crowd of students walking to school in the town of Machangying in the suburban Pinggu district.

Of the 20 injured, four were still in imminent danger and three others in severe conditions.

Among the 20 injured, 19 were students, who were heading for the Machangying Central Primary School when the accident occurred.