Eleven injured in car crash near London museum, terrorism ruled out

[rooster59]

Eleven injured in car crash near London museum, terrorism ruled out

By Michael Holden

 

A forensics officer walks near the Natural History Museum, after a car mounted the pavement, in London, Britain October 7, 2017. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Eleven people were injured on Saturday when a car collided with pedestrians near London's Natural History Museum, in one of the capital's busiest tourist areas, but police doused fears it was a terrorist attack, saying it was a road traffic incident.

 

Police said it was believed the car had mounted the pavement outside the popular attraction in west London and collided with a number of pedestrians. Officers had arrested a man at the scene and he was now being questioned.

 

Britain has suffered five attacks blamed on terrorism so far this year, three of which involved vehicles, and the incident in an area packed with tourists at the weekend had prompted concerns that the collision had been a deliberate act.

 

"The incident is a road traffic investigation and not a terrorist-related incident," a police statement said.

 

London's ambulance service said they had treated 11 people, mostly for head and leg injuries, with nine taken to hospital. Police said none of the injuries were life-threatening or life-changing.

 

Unverified footage from the scene showed a man being pinned to the ground by what appeared to be four security guards or police officers.

 

The Natural History Museum is located on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, one of the British capital's most upmarket districts and home to a host of other museums, restaurants as well as university buildings.

 

It is the fourth most popular tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, with 4.6 million visits during 2016, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.

 

The collision brought the area to a standstill as police cordoned off a wide area whilst they carried out their investigation.

 

"My thanks to the first responders at this incident this afternoon and the actions of members of the public. My thoughts are with the injured," Prime Minister Theresa May said on Twitter.

 

Britain is on its second highest security alert level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.

 

In March, a man drove a car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge killing four before stabbing a police officer to death in the grounds of parliament.

 

Three Islamist militants drove into people on London Bridge in June before stabbing people at nearby restaurants and bars, killing eight. The same month, a van was driven into worshippers near a mosque in north London which left one man dead.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-10-08

 

 

[BuaBS]

Mmm , sure ...

[RichardColeman]

Yep, accident from another mentally unstable person probably.

[bert bloggs]

He was an Uber driver , seems that he was having some sort of breakdown .i read he had people in the car .

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.  

[NeoDinosaw]

The Natural History Museum (NHM) address is Cromwell Road. It occupies a large area at the corner of Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road. On the other side of Exhibition Road is the side of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). The photos are taken from the NHM side of Exhibition Road showing the accident to be beside the V&A.

[7by7]

Indeed,  the photo in this BBC report 

 

My guess is, whether he turned left from the Cromwell Road and took the turn too fast and thus too wide or was coming ahead from the other side of the Cromwell Road too fast, maybe in an attempt to beat the lights, he lost control and went into the cars, which from their position I'm unsure whether they were in the parking bay just before the junction or moving or queuing for the lights, and nearby pedestrians; who may or may not have been crossing the road at the junction.

 

Pure conjecture on my part, of course.

 

10 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 

Police said it was believed the car had mounted the pavement

 There is no pavement as such to mount! Since the road was semi pedestrianised several years ago, the footpaths are level with the roadway; as can be seen in the photo, there's no kerb. As can also be seen, the other cars prevented his vehicle from going onto the footpath.

[7by7]

Having had further thoughts, it is possible, likely even, that the car ended up where it is after hitting pedestrians on the NHM side of the road because of attempts by the driver to avoid hitting any more pedestrians; e.g. by steering away from them into the other cars.

 

Police are still investigating the cause: Natural History Museum crash: Police appeal for tourists' footage after 11 injured in 'minicab' crash in South Kensington.

 

There must be plenty of cctv footage as well, given the number of foreign embassies nearby.

[connda]

Given the number of spectacular crashes here in the LOS, you'd think this would be the terror capital of the world.  It's probably good that Westerners are starting not to come here anymore.  A simple fender-bender could cause a panic stampede of tourists.

[bert bloggs]

The driver has now been released from police custody .

[7by7]

6 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

The driver has now been released from police custody .

 

Released under investigation, to be precise.

 

Natural History Museum crash: Man released by police

[bert bloggs]

26 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

 

Released under investigation, to be precise.

 

Natural History Museum crash: Man released by police

Pray tell ,what exactly are they investigating , we MUST know the exact details , as it was not in the paper i read they did not say ,but you as a guardian reader must have inside knowledge of the details ,

[7by7]

On ‎09‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 11:25 AM, bert bloggs said:

Pray tell ,what exactly are they investigating , we MUST know the exact details , as it was not in the paper i read they did not say ,but you as a guardian reader must have inside knowledge of the details ,

 I am not exclusively a Guardian reader, indeed read it rarely: I obtain news from many sources and my link was actually to the BBC. 

 

I have no inside knowledge of this or any other police investigation; however from my past professional experience in both driver training and traffic management I do know that in any RTC the police investigate thoroughly. Not just to discover the cause but also to see if there is a case for prosecution, for example driving without due care and attention or dangerous driving.

 

This is not the first time there has been a collision between a vehicle and pedestrians since Exhibition Road was turned into what is called a shared space. The first happened less than two weeks after the shared space was officially opened in 2012: Man hit by lorry in first crash on 'shared space' of Exhibition Road.

 

At that time I worked for a traffic survey company, and we were commissioned by RBKC to carry out surveys before, during and after the work to make the road a shared space. Our results showed that even before the road became a shared space there was a lot of conflict between pedestrians and vehicles when there was a high volume of pedestrian traffic; which is most of the time. Especially at the junction where this collision occurred when pedestrians waiting for the lights to change so they could cross the Cromwell Road mixed with those queueing for the NHM when was not unusual for pedestrians to spill into Exhibition Road. A situation which our results showed was only made worse after kerbs and road makings were removed and the pavement and carriageway put on the same level and paved to look the same so there is no discernable difference between the two.

 

Indeed, shared spaces have come under increasing criticism: for example this from 2015, Shared space schemes labelled 'dangerous' in Lords report.

 

I am not attempting to make excuses for this driver, nor any of the previous drivers who have hit pedestrians here. He and they should have been paying full attention and been aware of the situation and driven accordingly; especially as he is a mini cab driver and so presumably knows the area. But whether or not he is liable for prosecution, and for what offence, is for the police to decide; and if they do charge him with an offence then it is up to the courts to decide if he is guilty or not.