At least seven people were injured Saturday when a Moscow taxi apparently lost control of his car a few hundred meters away from the Kremlin on the third day of the Russia World Cup.
CCTV footage distributed on social media showed the yellow cab turning right as it tried to pass some traffic on a one-way street.
It appeared to accelerate as it reached the crowded pavement and drove a few meters before hitting a traffic sign and coming to a sharp halt.
Two passersby immediately tried to confront the driver by trying to jam open his door.
The cabbie eventually jumped out and tried to run away. The clip ended with the crowd chasing the man down a side street.
Moscow city authorities identified the driver as a 28-year-old national of the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan who was taken into police custody for questioning.
"According to preliminary information, seven people requested medical assistance," the Moscow police department said in a statement.
"The preliminary cause of the accident is that the driver lost control of the vehicle."
ITAR-TASS and other Russian news agencies later quoted the Moscow health department as saying eight people were hurt.
"Seven of them are in satisfactory condition and one woman is in moderate condition," an unidentified Moscow health department official was quoted as saying.
The incident occurred with Moscow packed with foreign tourists snapping pictures of the Kremlin and Red Square.
The police did not identify the nationalities of the injured.
The RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified source as saying that two Mexicans and two citizens of Azerbaijan were hurt.
Police closed the street for about an hour before opening it back up to traffic.
Security has been a top concern heading into the June 14 to July 15 football showpiece.
At least 600,000 foreign tourists are expected to visit Russia during the most watched even in the world.
The incident occurred shortly after Argentina and Iceland finished playing to a 1-1 draw in Moscow's Spartak Stadium some 13 kilometres (eight miles) northwest of Red Square.
At least seven people were injured Saturday when a Moscow taxi apparently lost control of his car a few hundred meters away from the Kremlin on the third day of the Russia World Cup.
CCTV footage distributed on social media showed the yellow cab turning right as it tried to pass some traffic on a one-way street.
It appeared to accelerate as it reached the crowded pavement and drove a few meters before hitting a traffic sign and coming to a sharp halt.
Two passersby immediately tried to confront the driver by trying to jam open his door.
The cabbie eventually jumped out and tried to run away. The clip ended with the crowd chasing the man down a side street.
Moscow city authorities identified the driver as a 28-year-old national of the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan who was taken into police custody for questioning.
“According to preliminary information, seven people requested medical assistance,” the Moscow police department said in a statement.
“The preliminary cause of the accident is that the driver lost control of the vehicle.”
ITAR-TASS and other Russian news agencies later quoted the Moscow health department as saying eight people were hurt.
“Seven of them are in satisfactory condition and one woman is in moderate condition,” an unidentified Moscow health department official was quoted as saying.
The incident occurred with Moscow packed with foreign tourists snapping pictures of the Kremlin and Red Square.
The police did not identify the nationalities of the injured.
The RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified source as saying that two Mexicans and two citizens of Azerbaijan were hurt.
Police closed the street for about an hour before opening it back up to traffic.
Security has been a top concern heading into the June 14 to July 15 football showpiece.
At least 600,000 foreign tourists are expected to visit Russia during the most watched even in the world.
The incident occurred shortly after Argentina and Iceland finished playing to a 1-1 draw in Moscow’s Spartak Stadium some 13 kilometres (eight miles) northwest of Red Square.
