SHANGHAI, Apr 24 -- A CAR slammed into a group of migrant workers on their way to a construction site in Beijing yesterday morning, killing two and injuring 19, the Beijing News reported today.

A black Chery sedan ran into the workers near the intersection of Xiangjiang Road (North) and Laiguangying Road in Chaoyang District at 6:05am yesterday. Nearly 1,000 workers were walking along the road to work at that time, a witness told the Beijing News.

The two who died on the spot were both natives of Henan Province, aged 50 and 60.

The injured were sent to Wangjing Hospital and General Hospital of Armed Police Forces. Fourteen of those hospitalized suffered fractures.

The driver, a Hebei native, was arrested. Police blamed the crash on driver fatigue saying the driver, a building contractor, had not had any sleep on the night before the accident.

The driver admitted being asleep when the crash occurred, the report said. The car didn't stop until it had traveled 45 meters from where it knocked down the first victim, the police said.

Drivers in the past who have been found to be responsible for similar accidents have received jail sentences of five to seven years.