Two perish as car hits crowd in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, Mar 03 (AP): Two people have been killed and six injured after being struck by a vehicle on a busy New Orleans thoroughfare on Saturday evening, authorities said.

Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told local media that a suspect is in custody following the incident that happened about 8 p.m. Saturday along a multiple-block stretch of Esplanade Ave.

Ferguson said the suspect is being tested to determine whether he was intoxicated. His identity was not released. The police chief said bystanders in the area were the ones who stopped the driver.

"We were able to apprehend the subject so quickly because citizens stopped this individual, because they thought they were helping someone who had just been involved in a one-car accident," Ferguson said.

EMS spokesman Jonathan Fourcade said a man and a woman - both about 30 years old - were killed. The injured ranged in age from 28 to 65. Five of the injured were taken to the hospital while one refused treatment, Fourcade said.