On Saturday, May 16, 2026, a driver drove onto a sidewalk in the northern Italian city of Modena, injuring seven people-four of them seriously-before exiting the vehicle possibly holding a knife, Mayor Massimo Mezzetti said. Police arrested the man at the scene and are questioning him, authorities added.
Early eyewitness accounts and the mayor said the driver, described as being in his 30s, appeared to aim for the pavement, struck a bicycle and then crashed, reportedly slamming head-on into a woman who was left badly hurt with both legs crushed. The car then careered into a shop window, witnesses said.
“He was seen with a knife in his hand, but he didn’t manage to stab anyone. It seems like he was trying to hit someone,” Mezzetti told local media and the ANSA news agency. He also told RaiNews that four of the seven people struck had been seriously injured.
A witness who spoke to Italian broadcasters said the vehicle arrived at high speed on Emilia Centro street, a thoroughfare that is very busy on Saturday afternoons. “I heard impacts and I saw people getting run over,” he said. “The car got to me and I managed to throw myself to the ground.” Another witness said the driver “seemed to be high or drunk, he didn’t seem to be in a normal state.”
People at the scene chased the driver when he tried to flee and disarmed him after he produced a knife, the witness said. Mayor Mezzetti praised “those citizens who showed courage and civic duty,” and added: “We need to understand what’s behind this act. But it was a dramatic event. I am deeply shaken. Whatever it was, it was extremely serious. If it turns out to be an attack, that would be even more serious.”
Police have detained the suspect and are continuing their investigation into the motive and circumstances behind the incident. Social media posts circulating about the event have included differing casualty counts and other claims that have not been confirmed by officials.
Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/video-man-drives-into-pedestrians-then-chases-people-with-knife-in-italy-11506022#publisher=newsstand
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Publish Date: 2026-05-17 00:16:00
