3 Dead as Man Drives SUV into Crowd at Austrian GP Event

9 years, 4 months ago - 23 June 2015, Autoblog

A man drove a Daewoo Rexton into a crowded square in the Austrian city of Graz, killing at least three people and injuring 34 more at an event for this weekend's Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the BBC reports.

The same story claims the driver got out of the car and proceeded to attack people with a knife after coming to a stop, although the BBC called these reports "unconfirmed."

Police apprehended the suspect, who the region's governor, Hermann Schuetzenhoefe, called "deranged." He added that his actions had "no explanation, there is no excuse." Police don't believe the incident was related to any terrorist organization, although additional official details remain scarce. Over 60 ambulances and four helicopters responded to the incident.

"The driver deliberately drove into pedestrians. I myself saw a woman being run over," Siegfried Nagl, the city mayor and an eyewitness, told the BBC. Another witness claimed the driver was doing at least 62 miles per hour when he hit the crowd and that he saw bodies on the ground.

Graz is Austria's second largest city, and is about an hour drive from the Red Bull Ring, this week's destination for the Formula 1 circus.