Driver with ‘mental issues’ sped into crowd leaving woman needing legs amputated

A man who drove into pedestrians in the Italian city of Modena was known to have mental disorders.

Salim El Koudri, 31, rammed into crowds in the centre of the city in Emilia Romagna, injuring eight people, including four critically.

Two of the victims lost their legs and one, a 55-year-old woman is said to be in a life-threatening condition at a hospital in Bologna.

After leaving his vehicle, El Koudri stabbed a pedestrian, Luca Signorelli, who tried to stop him fleeing the scene.

A 27-year-old woman, a 71-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man are all currently at Modena’s polyclinic with non-serious injuries.

In a statement today, prosecutors said he had struck passers-by ‘in an indiscriminate, random and deliberate manner’.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly cancelled a meeting with the Cypriot president in Nicosia to join president Sergio Mattarella on a visit to Modena on Sunday.

She wrote on X: ‘I express my solidarity with those who were injured and their families.

‘What happened in Modena is extremely serious. I trust the person responsible will be held fully accountable for his actions.’

Modena’s mayor Massimo Mezzetti suggested that El Koudri had a history of mental instability but insisted it was too early to draw conclusions.

Italy’s far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the anti-immigrant League party, highlighted El Koudri’s Moroccan heritage and called for migrants who commit crimes to have their resident permits revoked.

Dramatic footage showed the moment El Koudri rocketed down the street in a silver car, before mounting the pavement and damaging a row of shop awnings.

A witness told Corriere della Sera: ‘He was going incredibly fast, definitely over 100 miles per hour.’

Mr Signorelli said that El Koudri was behaving as if under the influence of alcohol or drugs before the attacker stabbed him, however police confirmed the 31-year-old had tested negative for both.

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