Two pedestrians were killed in a ramming incident in Leipzig, Germany, police in the state of Saxony reported. A 50-year-old German citizen drove his car into a group of people crossing the street at the intersection of Prager Street.
Two other pedestrians were also severely injured as a result of the ramming and were transported to a local hospital for treatment along with the injured driver. One woman has since succumbed to her injuries and died at the medical facility.
Allemagne : Un automobiliste a percuté un groupe de personnes à Leipzig. Dans l’état actuel des choses, il y a deux morts et deux blessés. La police pense qu’il s’agit d’un accident de la route.https://t.co/NbF4cKjk2B pic.twitter.com/woWHqzQAcU
— Rebecca Rambar (@RebeccaRambar) March 16, 2021
Police have cordoned off the area where the incident occurred and dispatched a rescue helicopter to the site in order to take aerial pictures. Law enforcement officers are currently treating the ramming as an "accident" and negligent homicide.
The exact cause of the incident remains unknown. The driver of the car has been apprehended.
Germany witnessed several ramming incidents in 2020, including premediated attacks. One of the biggest ramming attacks in the country took place on 24 February 2020, when a 29-year-old German man drove his silver Mercedes into a crowd at a carnival parade in the city of Hesse known as Rosenmontag. The attack resulted in no fatalities, but left 154 people injured. The police said that the perpetrator was a convicted assailant and that the attack was premediated. His motives, however, remain unclear.
