A man has been arrested after a car ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on a busy street, killing one person and hospitalising several more.
The driver of a car that ploughed into pedestrians before colliding with two other cars in Melbourne’s bustling CBD was sitting on top of the vehicle when he was arrested. Picture supplied
Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances which led to a car ploughing into pedestrians on a busy street and killing at least one person.
Officers were called to Melbourne’s bustling Bourke Street about 6pm on Friday after a white Toyota sedan crashed into three people. The vehicle then collided with two other vehicles, a Hyundai and a Mazda, near Russell Street.
On Friday night, Victoria Police Superintendent Zorka Dunstan confirmed the driver of the Hyundai had died, while two people inside the Mazda have been hospitalised with minor injuries.
She said the driver of the Toyota, a 26-year-old man from Melton West, was sitting on top of the car when he was arrested.
Bourke Street Melbourne – car attack – runs over people @[email protected]/oj8XUhclfQ
— MelbourneLiveLoveLaugh (@dj_hazit) September 8, 2023
He is undergoing a mental health assessment and is under police guard in hospital. Police confirmed he has not yet been charged over the deadly collision.
Superintendent Dunstan confirmed the man is known to police through previous “mental health interactions”.
There was a ghostly feel on the busy road in Melbourne’s CBD as it remained closed early on Saturday as officers continue to assess the scene.
Police were optimistic the road would reopen by midmorning and stressed there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Five people were assessed by paramedics following the crash, a spokeswoman for Ambulance Victoria said, with one taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition.
Two others were taken to Alfred Hospital in a stable condition and a fourth was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital.
The bustling street was thrown into chaos after a car hit several pedestrians before colliding with two other vehicles. A man sitting on top of one car (right) has been arrested. Picture: Supplied
Shocking footage of the aftermath shows one person laying at a tram stop and another on tram tracks as others rush to help them.
In the background, a person can be heard crying.
Blood spatters can be seen on the tram tracks in a separate clip, nearby a woman comforting an injured person.
Superintendent Dunstan said on Friday there is “nothing to suggest any terror links” and no ongoing threat to the public.
“The good thing was we had a quick arrest,” she said.
“At this stage there are no terrorist links and it is a person with mental health issues”
Video shows police arresting the man, believed to be the driver of the Mazda, who was sitting on top of the destroyed car in a white shirt and white pants.
Map of the Bourke Street incident September 9th 2023
Police arrested a man sitting on top of a vehicle after it collided with other cars and pedestrians in Bourke Street on Friday evening. Picture: 7 News
The man was seen being led away by two police officers. Picture: 7 News
In the clip, the man is pulled from the car by two officers who were on foot patrol in the area at the time, and held before he drops to the ground and is picked back up again.
Officers were then seen escorting him away from the scene.
In the clip, the man is buckled over and appears to stumble as two officers lead him across the road.
Witnesses told The Herald Sun that as the man was led away, several members of the public spat on him.
“People were angry on him, spitting on him,” she said.
Police have closed Burke Street from Swanston Street through to Exhibition Street.
Yarra Trams has suspended services along Bourke Street and Swanston Street, with diversions continuing as of Saturday morning.
Superintendent Dunstan said the area would remain closed as the investigation continued, and asked anyone with dashcam vision or other information to come forward to police.
Keyword: One dead, others injured after car crashes into pedestrians at Bourke Street, Melbourne