Man detained after driving car into Berlin crowd, killing teacher

A man has been detained after driving his car into a crowd of people in western Berlin, killing a teacher and injuring 14 children who were on a school trip, police have said.

The man drove into people on a street corner before getting the car back on the road and crashing into a shop window further on.

Authorities are trying to determine whether the man, identified as 29-year-old German-Armenian who lived in Berlin, deliberately drove into pedestrians or whether it was an accident, possibly caused by a medical emergency.

Six people have sustained life-threatening injuries and another three have serious injuries.

After steering his silver Renault Clio into a crowd of people on the pavement at about 10.30am, the man had returned to the road before again mounting the pavement and finally crashing into the shopfront window of a branch of the cosmetics chain Douglas.

The driver was detained after being restrained by passersby near the site of the crash.

The man was known to police for property offences, which can include burglary or theft, but not for holding extremist political or religious views, reported Bild.

The incident took place on Wednesday on a road adjacent to Breitscheidplatz square, the scene of a fatal attack on 19 December 2016, when Anis Amri, a rejected Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, hijacked a truck, killed the driver and then ploughed it into a crowded Christmas market, killing 12 more people and injuring dozens of others.

Concrete barriers were subsequently installed around the square to prevent similar terror attacks. Earlier this year the Berlin senate had announced proposals to remove the bollards and instead ban cars from the northern side of the square.

About 130 police officers and 80 fire service quickly arrived at the scene and closed off streets surrounding the site.

Barrowman, known for his appearances in Doctor Who and Torchwood, said he saw a car mount the pavement outside an Italian restaurant on the corner of Rankestrasse and Tauentzienstrasse, then drive back on to the road before again mounting the pavement further down.