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Man released in London car collision that injured at least 11 people

Posted at 7:43 AM, Oct 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-08 09:43:34-04

LONDON – A man arrested in a London car collision that injured at least 11 people has been released and is under investigation.

The 47-year-old man was arrested on “suspicion of dangerous driving” after a car jumped the pavement and hit pedestrians near London’s Natural History Museum Saturday, London’s Metropolitan Police said. The incident is not terrorist-related, police said.

Eleven people were treated at the scene, mostly for leg and head injuries, with nine transported to a hospital, according to the London Ambulance Service.

“The majority of those injured have now been discharged, and there are no serious injuries,” police said in a statement Sunday.

The Natural History Museum is in the bustling section of South Kensington, popular with both Londoners and tourists. The area was cordoned off Saturday by heavily armed police, according to video posted on social media. Helicopters buzzed overhead as ambulances rushed to the scene on Exhibition Road.

Saturday’s crash raised concerns aftera series of terror attacks this year in London involving vehicles ramming pedestrians.

In June, three men drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before going on a stabbing rampage at bars at nearby Borough Market. The attack killed eight people and injured more than 40 others. The attackers were fatally shot by police.

Later that month, a van plowed into pedestrians near a mosque in north London, killing one man and injuring 11 people. The driver, Darren Osborne, 47, a resident of Cardiff in Wales, was arrested at the scene.

In March, a man drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people.

The suspect, identified as a 52-year-old British man named Khalid Masood, also stabbed an unarmed police officer. Masood then was shot dead by police.

An ISIS-affiliated news agency later claimed the extremist group was behind the attack that injured 50 people. Masood acted alone, police said, but may have been inspired by ISIS.

Police are asking for witnesses of Saturday’s incident.

“We would ask anybody who saw what happened, or who have any pictures or moving footage that could help us gain a greater understanding of what happened, to get in touch with us,” the police said in Sunday’s statement.