Politicians in Berlin are calling for a city-centre ban on "tank-like" SUVs after a driver reportedly lost control of his car and hit a group of pedestrians in the German capital, killing four people.
Police have opened an involuntary manslaughter investigation into the 42-year-old driver of a Porsche Macan who reportedly overtook cars waiting at a traffic light in the central Mitte area at 7.10pm on Friday, before mounting the pavement on the other side of the road.
A 64-year-old woman, her three-year-old grandson, a Briton and a Spanish national, both in their 20s, died at the scene.
The exact circumstances of the accident, which took place on Invalidenstrasse, which has a 30km per hour speed limit and is lined with restaurants and shops, were unclear. There has been speculation the driver, who is being treated in hospital for head wounds, could have suffered a heart attack before the incident.
A 67-year-old woman and a six-year-old child were also travelling in the Porsche Macan.
A spontaneous vigil was held for those who died on Saturday night, amid a wider debate about the threat to pedestrians and cyclists posed by ever wider and heavier vehicles on urban streets.
Stephan von Dassel, the district mayor of Berlin-Mitte, said “armour-like” SUVs did not belong in the city, as every driving error put the lives of people at risk. “These [cars] are also climate killers. They are a threat even without an accident,” Mr Von Dassel said.
Oliver Krischer, a deputy leader of the Green party in the German parliament, called for size restrictions on SUVs allowed into city centres. "The best solution would be a nationwide rule that allowed local authorities to set size limits," Krischer told Der Tagesspiegel newspaper.
While the German government is committed to what it calls the Verkehrswende, the green transformation of its transport sector, the number of SUVs registered on German roads has exploded in recent years.
Last month, SUVs became the most popular newly registered car type in Germany for the first time, with a market share of 22.2 per cent. More than 1 million sports utility vehicles are expected to registered in Germany by the end of the year, with the average driver aged between 46 and 65. – Guardian