Counter-terror detectives helping investigate Derby crash
Several pedestrians were struck by a car in the city centre last night
Last updated 3 hours ago
Police in Derby have confirmed counter-terror detectives are helping investigate a major crash, which left seven people needing hospital treatment.
Emergency services were called to reports a black Suzuki Swift had struck pedestrians in Friar Gate in the city centre at about 9.30pm last night (Saturday 28th March 2026).
Some of those taken to hospital have serious injuries, but no one is reported to be in a life-threatening condition.
A 36-year-old Derby man, who is originally from India but had lived in the UK for a number of years, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in police custody.
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said:
"Detectives are leading the investigation with the support of Counter Terrorism Policing colleagues, which is common practice for an incident of this nature, and are keeping an open mind about the potential motives.
"Although counter terrorism officers are assisting us with those early investigations, this does not mean the incident is currently being treated as terrorism."
Chief Superintendent Emma Aldred, who leads policing in the city, added:
“Firstly I would like to send my best wishes to the people who were injured, their friends and families, and to the public who witnessed what will have been a very traumatic thing to see.
“I know this incident will have sent shockwaves through our communities but I would like to reassure people that we have a dedicated team of detectives working on it.
“Thanks to the fast actions of officers, working on eyewitness information from the public, we were able to quickly arrest the suspect in the city just a few minutes after the incident took place.
“I also want to thank the members of the public and staff from local businesses in Friar Gate, who helped officers with first aid in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
“We will provide updates to the public as quickly as we can, but sometimes those updates take a bit of time due to the complexity of the incident we are dealing with.
“I’d also like to thank business owners, their staff, and people whose cars are stuck within the cordon for their patience while we continue our work at the scene.”
Derbyshire Police have since confirmed a cordon in Friar Gate has been lifted, allowing businesses to reopen and drivers to go back to their cars.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Derbyshire Police, quoting incident 1131 of March 28.