Over 50 injured in Virginia car crash

Over 50 people have been injured in an incident where a car hit a crowd of hikers during a parade in the US state of Virginia.

Reports say more than ten people were seriously injured, and were taken to hospital after the crash, which took place during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in the town of Damascus in northern Virginia at 14:30 local time (1830 GMT) on Saturday.

Over a dozen other people were also taken to hospital by ambulance.

The status of the driver, who was described by witnesses as an elderly man, was not released by the police.

It was not immediately known why the car drove into the crowd, but it apparently came from a side street, and went more than 100 feet before coming to a stop.

As investigations are underway, Washington County director of emergency management Pokey Harris said they believed the man might have suffered a medical emergency before the accident.

Harris confirmed that there were no fatalities in the crash.

A witness from Damascus said, “He was hitting hikers. I saw hikers just go everywhere.”

After the crash people moved the car, which witnesses said had a handicapped sticker on it.

“Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up,” a Damascus resident stated.

The Trail Days annual festival is held in Damascus around the middle of May to celebrate the Appalachian Trail, which is a marked hiking trail extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine.