Australian in serious condition after accident

pulse

January 19, 2018 4:17 PM

An Australian man, one of 17 people injured when a car crashed into a crowd at Rio de Janeiros Copacabana beach, was in a serious condition Friday, health officials said.

A nine-month-old baby girl was killed when a man having an epileptic seizure crashed his car into the tourist-packed crowd.

The 68-year-old Australian was among 10 people still in hospital on Friday, most suffering multiple fractures after the accident, a statement from the Rio de Janeiro health secretariat said.

Police said the 41-year-old Brazilian driver lost control of his vehicle when he had a seizure, and his vehicle mounted the sidewalk, ploughing into the crowd enjoying an early-evening stroll.

Anti-epileptic drugs were found in his vehicle and he was not under the influence of alcohol, the police said.

"How is it that he's taking epilepsy medicine and is driving a car," the baby's 27-year-old father Darlan Rocha asked in an interview with Brazil's Globo TV.

"He's a killer. He shouldn't have a drivers license," he said.

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