Bellingham crash: Five people hurt, one critically, after car mounts pavement in south London

'I went up the road and saw all this carnage. There were two men lying flat on their backs, just lifeless or unconscious'

(Jonathan Brady/PA Wire )

A car drove into a group of pedestrians in south London, seriously injuring at least three people and hurting two more.

The victims, reportedly Romanian car washers, were hit by a black Mercedes on Bromley Road, Bellingham.

A 25-year-old man was in a critical condition, while two others, a 35-year-old woman and another 25-year-old man, were in a serious but stable condition.

Two more men, both aged 36, received minor injuries.

The car appeared to have come off the road and careered through a row of bollards before hitting a low wall at the end of a hedge.

The car's bonnet and boot were popped open by the impact, its airbags all deployed, while debris was strewn across the pavement.

The driver was arrested soon after by an off-duty police officer. He was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drunk driving. He was also taken to hospital with a head injury.

Raee Towolawi, 26, was on her way to church with her mother, brother and sister at around 8.20am when they heard the sound of screaming.

She told the Press Association: "I just thought it was people messing around or fighting nearby at the car wash but my mum said no, they sound like different types of screams.

"I went up the road and saw all this carnage. There were two men lying flat on their backs, just lifeless or unconscious.

"There was a lady in between them who had been sat upright and all the car washers were around her trying to get her to respond.

"They were just crying and wailing over her, and she wasn't responding. They were saying her name to try and get her to wake up, and shaking her."

Ms Towolawi said she saw a man with blood coming from a head injury and another uninjured man, both car washers, chasing a well-dressed man down the road.

She said: "They were swearing, saying 'Why have you done this?' I am assuming he was the one who did the damage."

Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit's witness appeal line on 020 8285 1574.

Additional reporting by PA