A 14-year-old student of the Ewarton High School died yesterday after the taxi in which she was a passenger crashed, killing her on the spot and injuring four of her schoolmates.

The police are blaming the taxi driver's speeding for the accident which led to the death of Aldene Brown.

According to Corporal Wilfred James of the Ewarton Police Station, the Caldina motor car was proceeding along the Ewarton main road and at Cotton Piece, the driver lost control.

The vehicle was hit by an oncoming Leyland truck. Brown, who suffered head injuries, was taken to the Linstead Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

According to Corporal James, that stretch of road has an unbroken white line, meaning that Smith should not have been overtaking at the time of the accident.

"We have implemented strict regulations with traffic en-forcement and, since the start of the week, we have served more than 20 tickets to motorists for speeding and illegal overtaking," he said. "We are now asking persons to be more careful as it is a 50 kph zone."

Leslie Mair, principal of the Ewarton High School, described the mood at the institution as sombre yesterday.

"We have taken several students to counselling following the devotion this morning, and it has hit the school very badly," he said. The traffic division has promised a thorough investigation.