One person has died and several more are injured after a car drove into a gathered crowd outside a train station in France.

A male suspect has been arrested after the crash in Caen, which left seven in critical condition and three more with minor injuries, AFP reported.

All the victims are said to be men between the ages of 17 and 40, who had been near a local bar when the attack happened at around 10pm.

Earlier in the evening, a fight had reportedly broken out at the bar, according to local media.

A major emergency response has been launched, and Bruno Coutanceau, a top security official for Caen, said: ‘For the moment, we are not dealing with a terrorist motive, but the investigation is only just beginning.’

The suspect is a 26-year-old man born in Russia, who was later arrested around 20km (12 miles) away in the port town of Ouistreham.

He wasn’t previously known to police for anything more than traffic offences, according to local prefect David Claviere.

Claviere claimed that the car ‘deliberately drove into pedestrians in the street opposite the train station’.

Social media videos show people gathering around police cars and ambulances, with a large section cordoned off.

Locals are being told to avoid the area around the Caen train station, and an investigation has been opened by the Specialised Crime Division.

The car ramming in Normandy comes months after a man in Derbyshire was arrested for dangerous driving, having mounted the pavement outside a pub.

Seven people were injured, some seriously, in March during the incident on a Saturday night outside the  Bishop Blaise pub in Friar Gate.

Sandhu Ponnachan, 36, appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court in April charged with dangerous driving.

He also faced six counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, one count of attempted grievous bodily harm, and one count of possession of a bladed article.

Ponnachan has a provisional trail date set for September 28. There were no fatalities in this incident.

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