One person was killed and dozens were injured on Sunday night when a motorist drove onto a crowded sidewalk on the Las Vegas Strip, near the hotel and casino where the Miss Universe pageant was being held, officials said.
An 11-year-old was among the injured, along with visitors from Montreal, Canada, University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said. Some had requested translators, indicating they might have been tourists visiting the famous gaming and hotel destination.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Brett Zimmerman said the female driver, who was in police custody, might have plowed into victims intentionally. She had a three-year-old in the car with her and was being tested for drugs and alcohol. The three-year-old was not hurt.
Photo: AP
Zimmerman said police had ruled out the possibility that the crash was an act of terrorism.
The US is on high alert after 14 people were killed in an attack in the Californian city of San Bernardino earlier this month.
Las Vegas authorities have given injury tallies ranging from 26 to 36 people, with as many as seven in critical condition.
“This is a huge tragedy that occurred on our strip,” Peter Boffelli of the Las Vegas Police Department said.
Rabia Qureshi, a tourist visiting from Wisconsin, told broadcaster KSNV that she saw victims “flying through the air” when the car crashed into the throng of people.
“The car was like a bowling ball and the human bodies were like pins,” she said.
Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell said the crash occurred at about 6:38pm. The Miss Universe pageant was nearing its finale inside the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino nearby at the time.
Police warned people to avoid the area and said a section of the strip in the vicinity had been closed to traffic.
A Reuters witness said there was a swarm of emergency and police vehicles in the area. Some among passersby were using smartphones to take photographs of the scene, while others seemed nonplussed.
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