Two children were among several people injured after a car driven by an 80-year-old woman swerved on to the pavement next to the entrance of a shopping centre in Guildford, Surrey.
A girl aged 13 months and a two-year-old boy were thrown out of their pushchairs in the collision. Surrey police said a man, a woman and the girl were taken by ambulance to St George’s hospital in Tooting, London with “what are believed to be serious injuries”. Four other people – three women and a two-year-old boy – were taken by ambulance to the Royal Surrey county hospital with minor injuries.
A bystander who saw the girl being treated at the scene said she had sustained “very nasty” facial injuries.
“It looked like the poor little mite had been in a pushchair and was thrown out of it when the car hit it. I think she must have landed face-first on the pavement and that is why she had such serious injuries,” said the woman, who asked not to be named.
The South East Coast ambulance service (SECAmb) said several ambulance crews responded to the incident.
“SECAmb can confirm that it responded to reports of a vehicle hitting a number of pedestrians in North Street, Guildford, at approximately 10.40am today. Six ambulance crews, four ambulance cars attended the scene along with the two air ambulances,” a spokesman said.
The silver Volkswagen Polo left the road outside the Friary centre. A witness told the GetSurrey website that she had seen the car lose control. “It mounted the pavement and took out a bollard. It then hit about six pedestrians, including a toddler and a baby,” she said. “A policeman told me that it was something wrong with the car, not the driving. It stopped outside the Friary centre. It really wasn’t something you wanted to see.”
Other witnesses said the car’s elderly driver appeared to have suffered a “medical episode” and lost consciousness at the wheel moments before the car veered on to the pavement. Surrey police said an 80-year-old woman was driving the car. A 92-year-old man was a passenger and both were taken to hospital.
A Surrey police spokesman said: “The collision took place in North Street outside the main entrance to the Friary centre. A silver VW Polo left the road and was involved in a collision with a number of pedestrians.
“Emergency services quickly attended and remain at the scene. Road closures are in place in the immediate vicinity and motorists and pedestrians are advised to avoid the area until further notice.”
GetSurrey reported that at least three people were treated on the ground, covered in foil blankets, while others were given chairs to sit on while they were treated.
Alejandro Mayol, 20, a student who lives in Guildford, told GetSurrey: “I was just standing on the other side of the road from the shopping centre. The car went on the pavement just in front of the shopping centre. It took out one pole and then crashed into three or four other people. They [were] just flung up into the air after the car hit them.”
