'Bodies flying everywhere': Witnesses describe chaos as car hits pedestrians

A witness describes the scenes of injured pedestrians lying on the Melbourne city streets after a car struck pedestrians.

Witnesses have spoken of their horror at seeing pedestrians mowed down before their eyes at a busy CBD intersection at the beginning of peak hour in Melbourne, Australia.

One distressed woman carrying Christmas presents and wrapping paper could be seen crying as police escorted her into an unmarked police car.

A preschool-aged child is among the injured and has been taken to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital in a serious condition with head injuries.

A man is arrested after pedestrians were mowed down in the Melbourne CBD.

Up to 13 people have been taken to hospital, including three to The Alfred and three to the Royal Melbourne. Their injuries and condition are not yet known.

READ MORE:* SUV 'mowed everybody down' in Melbourne* Melbourne a tale of two cities

Police inspect the SUV that drove into the crowd.

Police have arrested the alleged driver, a 32-year-old with a history of mental health and drug issues. They do not believe the incident is terrorism-related.

A second man who was seen filming the crash, and who was found with knives in his bag, was also arrested, but police do not believe he was working with the alleged driver.

MAN STRUCK BY CAR WHILE ON PHONE TO WIFE

DISTRESSING CONTENT WARNING: Pedestrians have been mowed down in Melbourne's CBD.

Rohit Kaul, 45, was on the phone to his wife Avi and crossing the intersection at Elizabeth St when he was mowed down by the car.

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Kaul heard the loud noises down the line before her husband's phone cut out and she unsuccessfully tried calling him several times.

He sustained leg injuries and was helped by several pedestrians who had been walking in front of him and managed to return his wife's call.

A witness heard screams and thumps as people were hit.

He has been transferred to The Alfred hospital.

'PEOPLE ARE FLYING EVERYWHERE'

Sue, from Walker's Doughnuts in Elizabeth St, told radio station 3AW that she heard screams before she saw "people flying everywhere".

Witnesses say they saw the driver speed up on purpose before pedestrians were mowed down in Melbourne, Australia.

"We could hear this noise, as we looked left, we saw this white car, it just mowed everybody down," she said.

"People are flying everywhere. We heard thump, thump. People are running everywhere."

YOUNG MUM FLEES WITH HER TWO LITTLE GIRLS

Police arrest a man who was in the Suzuki Vitara that mowed down CBD pedestrians.

A young mother who was the scene with her young daughters told radio station 3AW they fled as the car ploughed into pedestrians.

"I didn't want the kids to see anything," she said. "We just ran.

"I wanted to get the girls out of there so we ran into the closest building."

FAMILIES, WOMEN WITH PRAMS CAUGHT IN CARNAGE

Chris Gath said he was standing at the 7-Eleven on the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth streets with a coffee in his hand when he heard screaming.

"I heard it first and then I turned around and saw lots of bodies on the floor. 

"I saw a car ploughing into many people and bodies flying everywhere."

Gath said that he saw between 60 to 100 people crossing the intersection when a car travelling at what he estimated was 70kmh head for the crowd. 

He marshalled a group of people including women with prams away from the intersection to safety.

"I was a bit worried about myself so I got lots of people to run with me, and got families out of the way.

"I didn't know what was coming or how organised it was whether it was a bomb... so I just freaked and ran.

"[The car] ran into the tram stop – there would've been so many people waiting for a tram there. I'm hoping this is an accident. I'm hoping this is an accident..."

'INSTEAD OF STOPPING AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS ... THE CAR JUST KEPT GOING'

One young woman sat outside of the station, shaking her head and crying, as she frantically smoked a cigarette. 

Her friend hovering nearby started to pace nervously around the building, her eyes red and bulging, claiming that her friend "had been hit". 

Another witness who did not want to be named, said he saw a car travelling at a speed that he believed to be above the limit for the area - "very fast, as fast as possible" - before it "crashed".

"Instead of stopping at the traffic lights ... the car just kept going. 

"The whole thing was like 10 seconds. It was really quick.

"I just stopped where I was, I looked, I thought it was dangerous ... I sent a message to my friends to tell them to avoid the street. I'm OK."

WITNESSES POUR INTO POLICE STATION

About 20 people entered the Melbourne West Police Station within half an hour of Victoria Police putting out a request for witnesses. 

Many were escorted into the building by police officers. Some wiped away tears, while others buried themselves in loved one's arms.

They held shopping bags and drink bottles – signs of a leisurely warm day in the city, turned upside down just days before Christmas.

Among them was Kat Edwards, who said she was at a tram stop near the intersection when she saw a scene that, well over an hour after it had occurred, was still bringing her to tears.

"I heard the car, I was at the tram stop on the street, and I heard loud noises. Obviously it was pretty scary." 

Edwards gave a statement to police. "I saw people lying on the ground who had obviously been hit by the car.

"I saw the driver, but I also saw a man lying at a tram stop so I decided to run towards that man and tend to him."

She said she was "in awe" of the fast response of emergency services. 

"I think it's amazing how quick people are to react to it, I think Melburnians are pretty strong and help anyone. I'm in awe of the emergency services. They did a great job."

'I SAW PEOPLE FLYING'

Lawyer James Unkles said that he was walking along Elizabeth St towards Flinders St Station on his way home from work when he saw an SUV flash across the intersection in front of him.

"I saw people flying," he said

Unkles said police were immediately at the scene and that paramedics and other emergency services quickly flocked to the area.

He said the incident was probably witnessed by hundreds of people and that he was still processing what had happened.

"I come down here five days a week. This is always a busy thoroughfare. People were everywhere," he said.

"There must have been 1000 people heading home at the end of the week.

"Thirty seconds earlier, it could have been me."

 - The Age

Source: 'Bodies flying everywhere': Witnesses describe chaos as car hits pedestrians