Il Nuovo Postiglione - Eyewitness says Modena tragedy could have been even worse

"If the car had kept going into the centre, it could have killed, killed," the 76-year-old told AFP after Saturday's incident, when a driver with a history of mental health problems injured eight people.

The small Citroen driven by the man, a 31-year-old Italian of Moroccan heritage, mowed down cyclists and pedestrians at around 4:30 pm near the cathedral.

One of the car's wheels locked when it mounted the pavement, sending it crashing into a shop window.

If it had kept going, the car would have gone under some crowded arcades and would have "killed, killed, or caused even more serious injuries," Botorsi said, looking up at the sky.

"I'm still in shock," said the man, who saw the car going past "at very high speed".

There was no barrier preventing cars from entering the semi-pedestrianised street, where buses also pass.

The driver then tried to flee, but was chased down and caught by four passersby, on whom he pulled a knife.

He injured one of them before being arrested.

– Rage and sadness –

"Terror and blood on Via Emilia", was the headline on the Gazzetta di Modena newspaper Sunday.

This city in the Po Valley, between Bologna and the factories of luxury carmaker Ferrari, woke up torn between "rage" and "sadness", said Mattia Meschieri, 38.

"We really feel like we’ve lost what makes up the story of our lives. We have lived in a city we love... and seeing it like this really hurts."

Meschieri gathered with about a hundred people from Modena at the scene of the incident on Sunday morning to demand greater security in the city.

"The situation in the city has deteriorated enormously. Already at New Year's, a priest was stabbed by a foreigner. Yesterday’s incident is the most serious," he added.

"We want to make it clear that the population is extremely worried and that we expect a reaction from the political world, because we cannot endure a situation of this kind," Meschieri said.

Reactions from Italian centrist and leftist politicians have highlighted the courage of passersby who intervened to stop the driver, including two Egyptians.

Some far-right politicians have questioned “the integration of second-generation citizens".

"All this risks fuelling racism,” said Reda Lafif, 31, an Italian of Moroccan origin and owner of a perfume shop a few metres from the scene.

"This is not a problem of Moroccans," he said.

"If he was really crazy, had been in psychiatric care, and they let him out with his own car, that's a problem with the Italian system."

M.Vacanti--INP