"Not an act of terrorism"

Poland: Driver crashes into people, 19 injured

(Bild: AFP/STR)

A driver drove into a crowd of people in Szczecin in north-western Poland on Friday, injuring at least 19 passers-by. Six children were among the injured, explained provincial governor Adam Rudawski, and two of the injured were in a critical condition.

The police ruled out a terrorist background. According to Rudawski, the driver initially fled the scene after the incident, but was arrested shortly afterwards.

Three cars rammed while fleeing
"This is not an act of terrorism," said police spokesman Pawel Pankau. The arrested driver was a 33-year-old Polish man living in Szczecin. During his escape, the man rammed into three cars, the drivers of which were injured.

According to the police spokesman, the man "at the wheel of a Ford Focus drove into a group of people waiting for the streetcar at a major intersection in the center of Szczecin". Initial analyses indicated "that he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs".

Speeding towards waiting people at high speed
Polish media quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the driver drove into the intersection at high speed and then raced onto the sidewalk and streetcar tracks. He then fled across the intersection in his car and collided with three cars about one kilometer away.