Image copyright EPA Image caption The car hit people and crashed through tables and chairs of a cafe, eyewitnesses say

A car has ploughed into crowds on a promenade near Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana beach in Brazil, killing a baby and injuring at least 15 people.

Live television pictures showed victims lying on the sand and pavement, receiving emergency medical treatment.

The badly damaged car came to a stop on the beach.

The driver, who was detained, had an epileptic fit at the wheel, and drugs to treat the condition were found by police in the vehicle, reports say.

Eyewitnesses were quoted by Globo News network as saying the car went over a bicycle path and across the promenade, hitting people and crashing through the tables and chairs of a cafe.

A police official was quoted by the AFP news agency as confirming the accident was not a terrorist attack.

An investigation is continuing.

The promenade of Copacabana's crescent-shaped beach is popular with Rio residents and tourists.</s>Baby killed, 15 injured after car crashes into pedestrians on Rio de Janeiro beach

15 people injured after car crashes into pedestrians on Rio de Janeiro beach



 

 ABC News – A baby was killed and 15 people were injured — including more children — after a car crashed into pedestrians along a beach walk in Brazil, according to media reports and local authorities.

An 8-month-old baby was killed in the accident, according to Reuters and Brazilian TV network Globo, citing police.

The driver is suspected to have suffered some kind of epileptic attack, according to the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro State. The accident is not thought to be terror-related, officials said.

Video out of Rio de Janeiro shows people strewn about the sand after the accident.

First responders were seen tending to the injured, who were surrounded by a crowd of onlookers after the accident. The extent of the injuries is unknown.

A small black car was seen with its hood lifted as authorities investigated the scene.

It’s the run-up to Carnival season, so beaches are more crowded than normal with tourists.</s>At least 15 people were injured when a driver mounted the pavement and drove onto to the beach in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the evening of Thursday, January 18. Brazil’s Globo TV reported that the driver of the vehicle was detained by police. These videos show first responders aiding the injured on Copacabana Beach. Credit: Facebook/Carlos Chase via Storyful

A CAR has ploughed onto the crowded seaside boardwalk along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.

One eight-month-old baby was reportedly killed and Brazilian authorities say dozens of people have been injured.

The Twitter account of Brazil’s military police force says the driver in Thursday night’s incident has been taken into custody.

According to The Mirror, a fire department official said that an eight-month-old baby was killed.

The car stopped in the sand after it apparently crossed the wide sidewalk that runs between the beach and a busy road.

People were knocked down and lying on the ground.

The injured have been transported to Rio’s Miguel Couto and Souza Aguiar hospitals for treatment, officials said.

The black Hyundai was reportedly driving along Avenida Atlântica road before suddenly crossing a bike path and boardwalk, before coming to a stop on the beach, Express reports.

Local police commander Colonel Angelotti said the crowd was angry, telling media, “We got there in time to keep (the driver) from being lynched”, reports RT.

A witness, Magno Morais, said “it was shocking,” according to Express.

“We do not have a reaction at a time like this.

“People wanted to lynch the driver, but police at the scene prevented it. There were a lot of people run down.”

RT also reported that the car was not believed to have been driving at high speed because of traffic congestion, but the beach had been crowded because it had been a 40-degree day.

The driver, identified as 41-year-old Antonio de Almeida Anquim, tried to escape before being detained by police, according to reports. Some have said he suffered from an epileptic fit.

According to RT, authorities reportedly found anti-epilepsy medication inside the car.

Local journalists have reported that the driver has been taken to hospital where he is undergoing blood alchol tests.

Police are investigating, but initial reports indicate that it is not terror related.

Copacabana is Rio’s most famous beach, a 4km-long stretch of sand bordered by the Avenue Atlantica. It was the site of the Beach Volleyball Arena during the 2016 Rio Olympics and is one of Barzil’s most popular touirst drawcards.

In 2013 an estimated crowd of one million people gathered on Copacabana for a mass delivered by Pope Francis during world Youth Day celebrations.

Vehicle rammings are being reported with increasing frequency across the globe.

In 2017 there were deadly vehicle attacks in New York, Barcelona and Charlottesville, as well as two such rammings in Melbourne.

More to come.</s>(ABC News)–Fifteen people were injured — including children — after a car crashed into pedestrians along a beach walk in Brazil, local authorities told ABC News.

The driver is suspected to have suffered some kind of epileptic attack, according to the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro State. The accident is not thought to be terror-related, officials said.

Video out of Rio de Janeiro shows people strewn about the sand after the accident.

First responders were seen tending to the injured, who were surrounded by a crowd of onlookers after the accident. The extent of the injuries is unknown.

A small black car was seen with its hood lifted as authorities investigated the scene.

It’s the run-up to Carnival season, so beaches are more crowded than normal with tourists.</s>An infant was killed when motorist who says he lost control of his car drove into the crowded seaside boardwalk along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday evening. At least 15 others were injured and taken to local hospitals.

RIO DE JANEIRO — An infant was killed when motorist who says he lost control of his car drove into the crowded seaside boardwalk along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday evening. At least 15 others were injured and taken to local hospitals.

Brazilian military police said in an e-mailed statement there was no indication that the incident was a terrorist attack. Several European and American cities have seen terrorist attacks in which drivers plowed into crowds.

Police have arrested the driver, who told them he had not been drinking but had lost control of his car. He also said that he suffered from epilepsy, according to the police statement.

The boardwalk along Copacabana beach was crowded with people on the hot summer night when the car jumped the curb.

A witness reported seeing at least one child among the injured, many of whom were knocked down and were treated initially where they lay on the ground. The car stopped in the sand after it apparently crossed the wide sidewalk that runs between the beach and a busy road.</s>A car has driven onto the crowded seaside boardwalk along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, and Brazilian authorities say at least 11 people have been injured.

Police officers stand next to the a car after the incident.

The Twitter account of Brazil's military police force reports the number of injured and says the driver in today's (Thursday night's Brazil time's) incident has been taken into custody.

A witness reports seeing at least one child among the injured.

The car stopped in the sand after it apparently crossed the wide sidewalk that runs between the beach and a busy road. Several people were knocked down and lying on the ground.</s>A car ploughed into a crowd in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, the second-most populous municipality in Brazil.

The accident, which happened on Friday in the seaside promenade, led to the death of a baby, while 17 people were injured.

The 41-year-old driver told investigators he had suffered a seizure, the Rio military police said on Friday.

According to the police, the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle.

“There were no indications of a terrorist attack,” the Rio military police said on Twitter.

Two children and an Australian tourist were among those injured. (dpa/NAN)</s>The car that drove into the crowded seaside boardwalk along Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Source: Silvia Izquierdo via PA Images

A CAR PLOUGHED into a crowd on Rio de Janeiro’s tourist-packed Copacabana seaside promenade last night, killing a baby and injuring 17 people, authorities said.

The driver has told 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 told AFP 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 told AFP.

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, told AFP.

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.

Cristo Forfinol, another beachside restaurant employee, said many injured victims had long waits to be treated, despite the crash occurring at one of Rio’s star attractions.

“What shocked me was that the ambulances and the medics arrived more than 45 minutes later. There were people and children in pain and the rescue services came really late,” he told AFP.

Read: Three arrested after tools stolen from building site

More: Seven asylum seekers and refugees will receive scholarships to study at UCC</s>A car ploughed into pedestrians on the Copacabana Beach in Brazil on Thursday night, leaving at least 15 people injured and an eight-month-old baby killed. The 41-year-old driver is believed to have had suffered a seizure at the wheel.

At 8:45 p.m. local time, a man driving a Hyundai I30 slammed into the passersby and pedestrians next to the world-famous Rio de Janeiro beach. Witnesses said the car stopped in the sand after apparently crossing the wide sidewalk between the beach and a road. The injured were tended to as fire-fighters arrived on the scene. They were then transported to a hospital nearby.

Earlier reports claimed at least 15 people, including four children, were injured. According to Mirror, a fire department official later confirmed that an eight-month-old baby was killed in the incident.

The driver’s name was confirmed by authorities to be Antonio de Almeida Anaquim. He was held at the scene and taken to the hospital where he has undergone blood alcohols tests. Local reports suggest that he may have had suffered a seizure at the wheel, forcing him to lose control of the vehicle. Apparently, an anti-epilepsy medication was found inside his vehicle.

Beachgoers who witnessed the crash beat the driver until they were stopped by police, according to local news Globo1 (via the Daily Mail). Anaquim reportedly had a suspended licence for accumulating 62 infraction points and 14 fines for the past five years.

Police have stressed that the incident was not terror-related. They are instead treating it as a “serious accident.”</s>A car drove onto the crowded seaside boardwalk along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, injuring at least 11 people, Brazilian authorities said Thursday night.

The Associated Press reported that Brazil's military police said that 11 people were injured and that the driver had been taken into custody. The AP quoted a witness as saying at least one child was among the injured.

National TV and the national newspaper O Globo, which is based in Rio, put the number of injured at 15. They both quoted police as saying that the driver told investigators that he had suffered an epileptic seizure and that medicine for epilepsy was found in his car.

The car stopped in the sand after it apparently crossed the wide sidewalk that runs between the beach and a busy road. Several people were knocked down and could be seen lying on the ground.
Fifteen people are injured and an infant is killed after a car hits a group of pedestrians near Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The police report that the driver had an epileptic seizure.