Last Updated on December 21, 2017 by CCAR Staff
SYDNEY — Two men were arrested after the car in which they were traveling crashed into pedestrians on a busy Melbourne street Thursday, leaving 14 people injured, media reports said.
Police Commander Russell Barrett told media that while the motive of the incident was not immediately clear, “at this stage we believe it was a deliberate act.”
Sky News reported police arrested the driver of the white Suzuki SUV that plowed into the crowd and another man who was in the vehicle with him.
Sky News said the driver was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed after his vehicle crashed into a bollard by a cable car stop around 4:40 p.m.
Media reports said 13 people have been taken to hospitals, including a pre-school aged child in serious condition with head injuries.
Witnesses told Sky News the car ran a red light, speeded up and struck pedestrians on Flinders Street in the Melbourne central business district.
“As it (the car) approached this intersection … it just mowed everybody down, people were flying everywhere,” one witness who identified herself only as Sue told radio station 3AW.
Victorian state police said in a statement they had “saturated the … area in the vicinity of Flinders, Elizabeth and Swanston streets to ensure community safety.”
The area was busy with Christmas shoppers at the time of the incident.
