MONTREAL - Police have arrested a 22-year-old man accused of driving through a pedestrian-only zone in downtown Montreal on Saturday, leaving two women with injuries.

Montreal police say a vehicle travelling along Ste-Catherine Street drove into an area near the corner of Crescent Street just before 3 p.m. that had been closed off to traffic.

Local police say the man was arrested by provincial police, and could face charges that include dangerous driving and failing to remain at the scene of a crash.

The women who were on Ste-Catherine Street suffered lower-body injuries, but no one else was reported injured.

A temporary terrace at the corner of Crescent and Ste-Catherine Streets in front of a bar was completely destroyed.

A spokesman for Urgences-Sante, the local ambulance service, said debris caused the injuries.

“We transported two women, one 33 years old and the other 25 years old with minor injuries, lower body injuries,” said Jean-Francois Coornaert.

“They were not hit by the car but by the debris from the tables and chairs, so they were very lucky.”

A bar employee said their terrace was destroyed, but luckily there was no patrons sitting on it at the time.

“You can see the destruction is almost a full city block in length, the tables that were at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Crescent are now down at de la Montagne and Crescent,” said the employee, who asked that his name not be used.

Bergeron said the investigation is ongoing and police are looking at surveillance video and speaking to witnesses to get a better description of the vehicle.

This story by The Canadian Press was first published on Aug. 8, 2020.