Eight people were injured, two seriously, on Saturday after a car rammed into a group of pedestrians in the northern Italian city of Modena. Police have arrested the driver, a man in his 30s, who is also alleged to have attempted to stab a passerby who tried to stop him from fleeing.
The incident occurred in a central area of the city, where the car crashed into a shop window after hitting pedestrians. The mayor of Modena, Massimo Mezzetti, told the Ansa news agency that the driver “aimed for the pavement, hitting a bike” before crashing “head-on” into a woman, whose legs were crushed on impact.
The driver is an Italian national born in Bergamo, of north African origin, and lives in the Modena area. The two seriously injured pedestrians were taken to Maggiore hospital in Bologna. Mayor Mezzetti said the circumstances of the incident remain unclear.
Italian press reports indicate that four or five people helped to capture the driver after chasing him. One witness told Ansa that the driver disappeared behind parked cars before reappearing, allegedly “with a knife in his hand”. Mezzetti confirmed he was seen with a knife but did not manage to stab anyone. “We need to understand what’s behind this act,” the mayor said, thanking those who helped capture the driver for their “courage and great civic sense”.
One injured pedestrian told Rai news that he saw the car crash onto the pavement “at high speed” and heard the sound of “people being hit”. He managed to jump out of the way. The man added that the driver appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, although authorities have not confirmed this. Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed solidarity with the injured and their families on social media.
