1 dead after car crashes into Marseille bus shelters
Police have arrested a driver following an incident in the Old Port area of Marseille in which one person died when a car crashed into two bus shelters. The incident is not believed to be terrorism-related.
A 35-year-old was arrested following the woman’s death, after he hit two bus shelters in the area. At 8:15am local time the driver smashed into the first shelter in the 13th arrondissement before hitting the second in the 11th arrondissement.
In a statement from police the public have been asked to avoid the area of boulevard Charles Livon.
Another person was also injured, according to police. "At the moment we have no information on the motives of this individual," a police source told Reuters.
The man driving the vehicle is from the Grenoble region in eastern France, according to the source. He is known to police for minor crimes and was being treated for psychological issues.
Police say terrorism has been ruled out as a motive.
The bus shelters involved were five kilometres (three miles) apart, according to Reverdy, who said the van used in the incident was a Renault Master.
Images taken along Quai de Rive Neuve show armed police at the scene.
De gros moyens policiers engagés apparemment sur un véhicule suspect bd Charles Livon Vieux-Port #Marseillepic.twitter.com/Ygqu875l8U
— David Coquille (@DavidLaMars) August 21, 2017
Video from the scene shows a white van stopped by police with armed guards on the scene.
Attestation sur le vieux port@laprovence@BFMTV@GG_RMCpic.twitter.com/Ly5rbo4ru6
— jcsaltarelli (@jcsaltarelli1) August 21, 2017
One witness to the second collision provided the license plate of the vehicle to police, enabling them to find and stop it shortly afterwards, reported BFM-TV.
One witness to the second collision provided the license plate of the vehicle to police, enabling them to find and stop it shortly afterwards, reported BFM-TV.
“We saw a van that went off, making the tires squeal,” another witness said.
The incident comes just days after back-to-back van attacks in Barcelona and Spanish resort town of Cambrils killed 15 people and injured more than 100 people.
READ MORE: Barcelona attack suspect remains at large, may be in France – police
Earlier this month, six French troops were injured when a car rammed into them after they emerged from a barracks at Levallois-Perret, a suburb in northwestern Paris.
