Man questioned over driving into crowd in northern Poland
The prosecution service in the northern Polish city of Szczecin have started questioning a man detained on Friday after driving a car into a group of people, injuring over a dozen.
Following the incident on Friday, the man went on to cause a collision with three other cars while escaping the scene. It was reported on Friday that the 33-year-old driver had had psychiatric treatment.
A local prosecution spokesperson said the man would be charged and during questioning prosecutors would seek to find explanations for his actions as well as ascertaining the level of the man's soundness of mind. The service also said they would surely file a motion with a local court for three months' pre-trial detention of the suspect. The court approved the motion later on Saturday.
"However, the issue of the suspect's sanity will be established through further procedures," a prosecution spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said investigators had identified 17 people harmed in the incident, of which four had sustained serious injuries and two were in a critical condition, but added that the number was "fluid." On Friday, prosecutors said 19 people had been hurt including six children. On Saturday, local media reported that 20 people had been injured.
Later on Saturday, the Szczecin prosecutor's office said the man had been charged with the attempted murder of multiple people, causing a traffic catastrophe, escaping from the scene of an accident, and causing injuries.
On Saturday afternoon, province governor, Adam Rudawski, said 20 people had been injured in the incident.
Rudawski said the injured people were aged between 5 and 62 and they included six children and six Ukrainian nationals. Both persons who are in a critical condition are Polish, he added.
"Children sustained lighter injuries, there's no threat to their lives or health," Rudawski said.
A spokesperson for prosecutor's office said the man had admitted to the acts he was charged with and had offered an explanation, which the spokesperson declined to elaborate on. He also said the act was not being treated as terrorism.
The suspect faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. (PAP)
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