At least two children and six adults were reportedly injured during a Christmas fair on Sunday when a car drove into a small crowd of pedestrians in a small town in England.
“There was a loud screech. Then there was a lot of screaming and it became clear that people had just been injured,” the owner of one of the market stalls, Ady Jones, told the BBC on Sunday, still “shaken” by the events. .
It had only been an hour since the Christmas fair started on Sunday in Chipping Sodbury, a small English town near Bristol, when a driver, possibly an octogenarian, caused a collision with a group of pedestrians, according to the British media.
The man then attempted a low-speed maneuver to leave his parking space, Avon and Somerset Police reportedly told the BBC.
“The car was parked and suddenly we saw it speeding out of its parking space and hitting a few people. There was a mother with a baby in a stroller in front of the car. He also hit a few more people, a family,” said Esra Ward, who ran a pizzeria during the fair.
In total, no less than two children, including a baby, and four adults were transported to a hospital to treat injuries, while two other adults were examined by paramedics on the scene.
Five ambulances as well as an air ambulance were sent to the scene to treat the patients.
Fortunately, none of them had life-threatening injuries, the BBC said. The octogenarian who was behind the wheel would be one of the injured, but the extent of his injuries was not specified.
It is unclear whether the incident would be further investigated, or whether charges could be filed against the driver.
“The stands had to close for a while, but fortunately no one was seriously injured. The situation could have been much worse,” added Ady Jones to the British media.