The driver, described by the media as a “highly intoxicated” man of North African descent, was reportedly armed with a knife, and stabbed a person before being subdued by bystanders, RT reported.
While the motive remains unclear for the time being, terrorism is not being ruled out, according to Italian newspaper La Pressa.
Two of the injured have reportedly been rushed to a hospital by helicopter, with one woman having both legs amputated after being crushed against a wall by the speeding vehicle.
According to the local press, the incident happened at around 4:30 PM in the heart of Modena’s historic center. Eyewitnesses recounted seeing a Citroën C3 that suddenly accelerated to approximately 160 kph (100 mph), and zigzagged through the sidewalk, as reported by the daily Il Messaggero.
The driver, identified by local media outlets as Salim el Koudriv, a 31-year-old Italian citizen of Moroccan origin, then attempted to flee the scene on foot, blending in with the panicked crowd. However, several bystanders gave chase.
La Gazzetta di Modena quoted one of the pursuers, Luca Signorelli, as describing how the suspect stabbed him when he approached him.
“I managed to avoid the first, but I took the other. I didn’t let go, locking his wrist and disarming him, and with the help of five or six other people, I managed to subdue him,” Signorelli, who sustained light injuries, told the newspaper.
The suspect was subsequently handed over to the police and brought in for questioning.
In a video message on social media, Modena mayor Massimo Mezzetti thanked the “citizens who chased (the suspect, for displaying)…courage and civic-mindedness.”
Following the incident, there was a heavy law enforcement presence at the scene, with the national police conducting the investigation.