Eight killed in market crash horror

EIGHT people were killed and dozens injured yesterday when a speeding car with an 86-year-old man at the wheel veered out of control and ploughed through a crowded street market in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica.

A three-year-old girl was among those killed when the 1992 Buick LeSabre crashed through barricades at one end of the street and through the open-air market, sending bodies flying, shortly before 2pm local time, police and witnesses said.

Fifteen people were critically hurt, with between 20 and 30 others suffering moderate to minor injuries in what Santa Monica Police Chief James Butts called "the most devastating accident scene that I have witnessed in 30 years of law enforcement".