Car hits crowd at Brazil's Copacabana, killing baby
19 Jan 2018 4:51 PM GMT
Rio De Janeiro: A car ploughed into a crowd on Rio de Janeiro's tourist-packed Copacabana seaside promenade, killing a baby and injuring 17 people, authorities said, with the driver telling investigators he suffered a seizure.
The black car, its windshield shattered and the front caved in, came to rest on the beach where some of the injured were frantically being treated.
The Rio de Janeiro health secretariat said that a nine-month-old baby girl was killed and 17 people injured in the crash.
The driver "lost control of his vehicle, which went up on the sidewalk of the promenade" and was taken for questioning, police said.
"The driver explained at the police station that he had an epileptic seizure, and anti-epileptic drugs were found in his vehicle," a military police colonel said.
The early-evening incident happened while many people including tourists were enjoying the long promenade during the summer holidays.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes with badly injured victims waiting in agony for treatment.
"There was an injured child, I think he had a broken leg," Roberto Miguel, who works at a beachside restaurant, said.
"One man passed out too, another man had a broken leg and there was also a woman with a leg covered in blood."
Miguel said an angry crowd gathered around the car.
"He (the driver) stayed in the car until the police arrived and when he got out he was safe and fine," he said.
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