The driver of a van that plowed into a group of people dining on a Los Angeles pavement, striking and injuring at least eight people, was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of hit-and-run, authorities said.

A witness told The Associated Press the van jumped a curb and careened into a group of people eating outside The Fish Spot restaurant in the city's Mid-Wilshire neighbourhood.

The vehicle knocked down a white picket fence that served as a barrier between diners and pedestrians on the pavement.