Four pedestrians have been rushed to a major trauma centre after being hit by a car that mounted the pavement in East London this morning.
They were all treated at the roadside in the Stamford Hill area of Hackney before being taken to hospital in serious condition.
MailOnline understands the driver, believed to be a man in his 70s, was also taken to hospital by a Hatzola volunteer ambulance crew.
Witnesses say he lost control of his Toyota and spun around on the pavement, slamming through a bus shelter before crashing into a tree outside a green grocers.
Scotland Yard is not treating it as a terrorist attack and have made no arrests, but investigations are ongoing.
At around 9.40am at least a dozen emergency service vehicles were scrambled to the scene where the Toyota had come to a stop at the base of the trunk. The front of the car had been crumpled, the windscreen smashed and the airbags inflated.
Around 20 yards down the street more paramedics were pictured next to a damaged bus shelter. Shards of glass lay scattered around the shelter and one of the panels has been ripped off.
A woman, who gave her name as Sarah, said: ‘It was a total accident, the car lost control, it just went through the bus stop and into the tree. It was spinning round and round.’
Five people have been rushed to hospital after a car (Toyota pictured crashed into tree) mounted the pavement and ploughed into pedestrians in East London this morning
Witnesses say he lost control of his Toyota and spun around on the pavement, slamming through a bus shelter before crashing into a tree outside a green grocers
Shards of glass are scattered around the bus shelter and one of the panels has been ripped off
Sarah added: ‘I saw the guy sitting on the chair. He was dazed but he was the best of the lot. He was the least injured out of all of them. I don’t know how he survived that.
‘He’s an elderly person. He’s Jewish. I know him from the community but I don’t know his name. He was really shocked. I think he’s in his late 70s.
‘I’ve seen him around, he’s a very responsible man – he’s always got his mask on – he’s always very sensible.
‘I know the police said it wasn’t a terrorist attack. It was a terrible accident. My prayers are for everyone. The guy at the bus stop was very badly injured. It’s awful.
Another witness overhead the driver telling police his brakes had failed. They said: ‘I heard a bang, that was when the car hit the bus stop. The car was on the kerb and I saw two people flying in mid-air.
‘After that he hit a Mitsubishi parked over there and his car did a 90-degree rotation. Another guy on crutches got hit.
‘A few elderly Jewish gentlemen helped him out the car, people in the shop came out to help. I called police and they were here in two or three minutes. I saw five people getting treated including the driver. He was an older-looking man in shock.’
At around 9.40am at least a dozen emergency service vehicles were scrambled to the scene where the Toyota had come to a stop at the base of the trunk. The front of the car had been crumpled, the windscreen smashed and the airbags inflated
Around 20 yards down the the street more paramedics were pictured next to a damaged bus shelter. Shards of glass are scattered around the shelter and one of the panels has been ripped off
They were all first treated at the roadside in the Stamford Hill area of Hackney before four were taken to a major trauma centre
Around 20 years down the the street more paramedics were pictured positioned next to a bus shelter that appears to have been damaged
Nicola, 27, from Hackney, said: ‘I saw him being treated by medics on a chair. He was an older man, around 70ish.
‘He looked completely dazed, and shocked. I don’t know if he spoke very good English because there was someone translating for him. It looked like an awful tragic accident to me.’
Rob Quansah, owner of Foxy Auto Parts nearby, told MailOnline: ‘When I looked out of the window, there were people lying on the floor. I was shocked.
‘For that time of the morning, you don’t expect to see it. It was harrowing to see people on the floor at that time.’
He added: ‘I’ve been here for 25 years and this is the worst accident I’ve seen in my time. You just don’t expect to see these things outside your workplace.’
London Ambulance dispatched six crews, including hazardous area response teams, while police and fire vehicles were also present.
The damaged Toyota came to a stop after ramming into a tree by the roadside in Stamford Hill, Hackney
London Ambulance dispatched six crews, including the air ambulance service by car, while police and fire vehicles were also present
Drivers are being urged to avoid the area between Cazenove Road and Clapton Common.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘A car is reported to have mounted the pavement and struck a number of pedestrians.
‘We await an update on any injuries. At this early stage, this incident is not being treated as terror-related.’
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 9.37am today (11 December) to reports of a road traffic collision involving a car and pedestrians on Stamford Hill, N16.
‘We sent a number of resources to the scene, including six ambulance crews, an incident response officer, a medic in a car, a team leader and our hazardous area response teams. We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance by car.
‘Five adults were treated at the scene. We took four to a major trauma centre. and one was taken to hospital by an Hatzola ambulance crew.’
A police officer enforces a cordon on the road in Hackney