NANCHANG, May 4 -- Six people were killed when their car was crushed by a truck that overturned on an east Chinese highway on Monday morning, local authorities said.

The accident happened when a heavy truck overturned near Leping City in Jiangxi Province at about 6 a.m., killing all six people in a car it fell on, according to the city government.

At least 40 people were killed in road accidents around the three-day May Day holiday ending Sunday, as an increasing number of Chinese drove their cars to tourist destinations.