Another terror attack in London

[Vixen]

There has been a 'Westminster Car Incident' according to BBC News. A few people injured.

I thought they had built in bollards to stop pavement mounting.

'Collided with cyclists and pedestrians. Two taken to hospital' - Met Police. 'Driver alone in vehicle. Arrested under the terrorist act. No other weapons have been found.'

 

[Information Analyst]

There has been a 'Westminster Car Incident' according to BBC News. A few people injured.

I thought they had built in bollards to stop pavement mounting.

'Collided with cyclists and pedestrians. Two taken to hospital' - Met Police. 'Driver alone in vehicle. Arrested under the terrorist act. No other weapons have been found.'

Ford Fiesta vs. security barrier.

Security barrier wins.

 

[fagin]

There has been a 'Westminster Car Incident' according to BBC News. A few people injured.

I thought they had built in bollards to stop pavement mounting.

'Collided with cyclists and pedestrians. Two taken to hospital' - Met Police. 'Driver alone in vehicle. Arrested under the terrorist act. No other weapons have been found.'

It was the central reservation, not pavement. And the car was stopped. The injured were cyclists on the road.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

The CCTV footage of the incident makes it look like the driver panicked at an ambulance siren right behind him, turned off Parliament Square on the wrong side of the road, knocked the cyclists down as he swerved over to the correct lane and then sped down the entry lane to the Palace of Westminster as far as the barrier which proved not to be like the balsa wood ones in movies.

It has more than a hint of the unplanned look to it.

 

[Sherkeu]

The CCTV footage of the incident makes it look like the driver panicked at an ambulance siren right behind him, turned off Parliament Square on the wrong side of the road, knocked the cyclists down as he swerved over to the correct lane and then sped down the entry lane to the Palace of Westminster as far as the barrier which proved not to be like the balsa wood ones in movies.

It has more than a hint of the unplanned look to it.

I agree with this. Looks like an obvious traffic accident to me too.

 

[Trebuchet]

Teevee says the driver isn't cooperating with police. That's a bad sign.

 

[GlennB]

The CCTV footage of the incident makes it look like the driver panicked at an ambulance siren right behind him, turned off Parliament Square on the wrong side of the road, knocked the cyclists down as he swerved over to the correct lane and then sped down the entry lane to the Palace of Westminster as far as the barrier which proved not to be like the balsa wood ones in movies.

It has more than a hint of the unplanned look to it.

The car swerves from a normal lane across at least one section of pavement before entering that slip-road towards the PofW. afaics it's only when he does this that he finds an ambulance behind him. He then makes no attempt to slow for people or the barrier.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

The CCTV footage of the incident makes it look like the driver panicked at an ambulance siren right behind him, turned off Parliament Square on the wrong side of the road, knocked the cyclists down as he swerved over to the correct lane and then sped down the entry lane to the Palace of Westminster as far as the barrier which proved not to be like the balsa wood ones in movies.

It has more than a hint of the unplanned look to it.

I agree.. Except.. It just seems odd that he continues on, indeed seems to speed up, until he hits the barrier. Maybe it was an attack but the ambulance interrupted the plan, or just a really bad case of hit and run?

Eta: Ninja'd by GlennB, who also makes other good points.

 

[Sherkeu]

The car swerves from a normal lane across at least one section of pavement before entering that slip-road towards the PofW. afaics it's only when he does this that he finds an ambulance behind him. He then makes no attempt to slow for people or the barrier.

in the BBC video, that ambulance is behind him from the beginning with flashing lights (and presumably siren as well). It seems he is slowing for it before pulling over to the right and nearly colliding with it.

You're right that he doesn't seem to slow down after his turn but then I'm not privy to the minds of drivers with poor reactions. It happens.

Wild Speculation: He could have been spooked by the lights/siren thinking he was being pulled over by police. That would makes more sense, especially if he has reason to fear being pulled over. Could also explain his not 'cooperating'.

 

[GlennB]

in the BBC video, that ambulance is behind him from the beginning with flashing lights (and presumably siren as well). It seems he is slowing for it before pulling over to the right and nearly colliding with it.
.

Yep, cheers. The video I saw started somewhat later and that first ambulance is very nearly out of shot.

 

[Bouncing Bettys]

in the BBC video, that ambulance is behind him from the beginning with flashing lights (and presumably siren as well). It seems he is slowing for it before pulling over to the right and nearly colliding with it.

You're right that he doesn't seem to slow down after his turn but then I'm not privy to the minds of drivers with poor reactions. It happens.

Wild Speculation: He could have been spooked by the lights/siren thinking he was being pulled over by police. That would makes more sense, especially if he has reason to fear being pulled over. Could also explain his not 'cooperating'.

Maybe, unbeknownst to the driver, there was a hidden nest of bees under his seat, which was jostled into a frenzy after hitting a pothole. This surprise bee attack caused him to drive erratically. What is incorrectly perceived to be a refusal to cooperate with police is actually a swollen tongue/throat due to this bee attack. Bees are the real terrorists. Their population is dying out so we are winning the War on Terror!

 

[Whip]

Maybe, unbeknownst to the driver, there was a hidden nest of bees under his seat, which was jostled into a frenzy after hitting a pothole. This surprise bee attack caused him to drive erratically. What is incorrectly perceived to be a refusal to cooperate with police is actually a swollen tongue/throat due to this bee attack. Bees are the real terrorists. Their population is dying out so we are winning the War on Terror!

he should write down 'I was just buzzing around town"

 

[Sherkeu]

Maybe, unbeknownst to the driver, there was a hidden nest of bees under his seat, which was jostled into a frenzy after hitting a pothole. This surprise bee attack caused him to drive erratically. What is incorrectly perceived to be a refusal to cooperate with police is actually a swollen tongue/throat due to this bee attack. Bees are the real terrorists. Their population is dying out so we are winning the War on Terror!

haha!

Or he is an epileptic triggered by the flashing lights, or had a heart attack, or has ptsd and had a flashback, the gas pedal got stuck, or or or....bees!! Could be. (I am bee-phobic myself )

I think immediately jumping to "terror attack" by what is in this video is quite a stretch. Not cooperating isn't evidence of terrorism.
Certainly possible, though i await some actual evidence.

 

[CORed]

It's really hard to tell from the video whether this was a deliberate act or a complete loss of control. I'm not sure the ambulance didn't tap him, possibly causing the loss of control.

 

[carrps]

Maybe, unbeknownst to the driver, there was a hidden nest of bees under his seat, which was jostled into a frenzy after hitting a pothole. This surprise bee attack caused him to drive erratically. What is incorrectly perceived to be a refusal to cooperate with police is actually a swollen tongue/throat due to this bee attack. Bees are the real terrorists. Their population is dying out so we are winning the War on Terror!

Maybe he just got back from San Francisco?

 

[GlennB]

It's really hard to tell from the video whether this was a deliberate act or a complete loss of control. I'm not sure the ambulance didn't tap him, possibly causing the loss of control.

Conceivably, but he then went a long way with no effort to slow down.

 

[Vixen]

It gave Katie Hopkins a thrill, anyway.

 

[William Parcher]

The man arrested on suspicion of terror offences after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament has been named as Salih Khater by government sources.

The 29-year-old British citizen, originally from Sudan, has also been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, Met Police said on Wednesday.

He came to the UK as a refugee and was granted asylum, the BBC understands.

His brother described him as a "normal person" with no fanatical ideas, and no links to any religious group...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45193781

 

[Giordano]

Just road rage?

 

[Jack by the hedge]

... afaics it's only when he does this that he finds an ambulance behind him. He then makes no attempt to slow for people or the barrier.

In the video of the whole incident posted above, the ambulance is the yellow and green van which is behind him at first but carries on to the left out of our view. The two white vans which follow him to his crash site are probably police vehicles.

I suspect he had some kind of attack in mind, got spooked by the blue lights and sirens and went for an unplanned blitz attack. He didn't intend to attack just then as he was initially heading the wrong way. It's hard to tell due to the low resolution but one or both of the police vans might also have had its blue lights on and it could be that rather than the ambulance which spooked him into thinking they were chasing him (when they quite likely were not).