NEW LONDON, Conn. – An elderly man drove his station wagon into a crowd at a summer festival, injuring 27 people, city officials said.
Mayor Elizabeth Sabilia said two people had serious injuries. The rest were non-life-threatening injuries.
The accident happened about 3:30 p.m. near the Amtrak station during Sailfest summer festival in New London, Conn. Sabilia said the motorist was driving across the tracks to get to the Fishers Island ferry when his car struck a pedestrian.
“He panicked,” she said.
The car then lurched through the crowd, which witnesses said was about four- or five-people deep.
“People were facing the tracks and didn’t see the car coming,” witness Bill Hoezel told The Day of New London. “The car was moving probably 10 to 15 miles per hour, much quicker than someone trying to edge through a crowd. There was no warning and no screaming, just thump-thump-thump as the bodies were hit.”
The victims were taken to Lawrence &Memorial Hospital. The driver, whose name has not been released, was suffering from confusion and was also transported to the hospital, the mayor said.
The waterfront city’s Sailfest festival brings thousands of visitors to the downtown.
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