This is the moment people were seen fleeing for their lives after a car crash caused panic outside one of London’s most famous museums.
Hundreds of terrified tourists fled the scene as the black Toyota Prius – a registered minicab – careered into a sign before ultimately crashing into a crowd of as many as 10 people as it hit a silver car, according to witnesses.
Dramatic video footage obtained by the Mail show guards holding down a man covered in blood with rubble strewn across the road. Dozens of armed officers converged on the scene as search dogs patrolled the area.
One of the injured is pictured being wheeled away by paramedics as investigative officers arrive on the scene
Witnesses said the man was pinned to the ground by security guards before being detained by police
Dramatic pictures taken at the scene show police holding down a man covered in blood with rubble strewn across the road
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Emergency Service attended the scene. Whilst enquiries continue it is believed a car mounted the pavement and collided with a number of pedestrians.’
Eleven people were found at the scene with varying injuries and nine of them have been taken to hospital, and this includes the man that was detained by police. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
The man detained by officers is currently under arrest and is in custody at a north London police station.
A spokesman added the incident is a road traffic investigation and not a terrorist-related incident.
Banker Greg King, who was walking with his friend Georgie Sheard in the area, claims he was the first person to call the police after nearly being hit by the vehicle.
The 22-year-old told MailOnline: ‘A black Toyota went ploughing straight towards us and the crowd. I heard tyres screeching and a lot of screaming and then a massive smash which was him hitting a sign and the glass falling.
‘He then swerved and went smashing into the silver car on the other side of the road which stopped him.
‘People were sprinting in all directions and then it looked like a security guard from the museum and two members of the public were pinning him down.
‘He had blood in his mouth so I assume they smashed him down on the ground.
Nearby museums including the Science Museum were evacuated with Tube stations sealed off by police.
The injured were seen sitting on steps being bandaged up before they were wheeled away by paramedics. London Ambulance Service confirmed they treated 11 people, mainly for leg and head injuries, with nine taken to hospital.
Scotland Yard said they were keeping an open mind as to whether the incident was terror-related with a Government source saying it is ‘looking like a traffic incident’.
But London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was in ‘close contact’ with Assistant Met Commissioner Mark Rowley – the head of UK counter-terrorism policing.
Today’s incident follows a series of vehicle attacks across Europe which have left well over 100 people dead in Britain, France, Germany and Stockholm.
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