Car rams pedestrians in Modena, injuring eight

A man drove his car into pedestrians in the northern Italian city of Modena, injuring eight people, four of them seriously, officials said.

The injured include a woman who reportedly had both legs crushed. Passers-by chased the driver, a man in his 30s, and detained him before handing him over to police.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the incident "extremely serious." Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti said it would be "even more serious" if it turned out to be a premeditated attack.

The crash happened around 16:30 local time when the speeding car struck pedestrians in the city center, south-east of Milan.

"We saw the car approaching, it was heading for the curb," an eyewitness said. "It suddenly accelerated—it was going at least 100 km/h."

Mezzetti said the driver appeared to have "deliberately drove on to the pavement, hitting several people and crashing into a shop window." The mayor added that the man then got out of the car and brandished a knife. One man who tried to stop him suffered light injuries before others joined in and overpowered the attacker.