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At least 17 people have been hurt - two of them seriously - after two 'boy racers' ploughed into crowds of youngsters in a horror crash at a charity car meet.

Distressing footage of the crash showed the vehicles slamming into bystanders on a pavement and central reservation - sending them flying into the air - as "some people went rogue" while drivers of souped-up cars raised money for bereaved families.

Spectators claimed at least one of the vehicles was travelling at up to 70mph moments before one pulled out in front of the other at around 9.45pm on Thursday.

A shocked witness saw "kids lying everywhere" after being hit, and a group desperately tried to lift one of the cars off a trapped victim at the scene on the A602 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Ciaran O'Connor, 33, who witnessed the crash while driving home from an open mic night, said he saw three or four youngsters lying motionless in the road in the chaotic and harrowing aftermath.

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Describing the scene as "carnage", Mr O'Connor told Mirror Online: "You could just see kids on the floor not moving. I saw at least 10 people injured. One boy had quite a bad arm injury.

"Another boy had his arm cut open and his mum was really upset. She came 15 minutes after the incident and grabbed him and hugged him.

"The first car hit three or four people. I think the slow car went into eight to nine people but it was going slow.

"There were about 200 people there. The majority of them were 15, 16 or 17."

Mr O'Connor, a singer from Stevenage, said he saw a car travelling at speed hit a group of youngsters.

He added: "They went flying. A car pulled out of a retail park and this other car... basically dodged it and took these kids out."

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He said the arm of a boy or young man was trapped under one of the cars, and witnesses were desperately trying to lift the vehicle off of him.

Victim Robert Binns told how he was "very lucky" to have survived after he was hit by one of the cars - a black Toyota GT86 - and flipped into the air.

Victim 'lucky to be alive'

Mr Binns, who landed on his head and was one of hundreds at the meet, took a photo showing him wearing a neck brace following the crash.

He wrote: "I was hit by one of the cars man. I was sitting down they just told me to stay how I was.

"I was flipped up in the air by the GT86 and landed on my head. Have whip lash concussion, cuts and bruises. So I’m very lucky."

He told one well-wisher: "Just have whiplash and everything is really sore!"

He wrote to another: "Haven’t really slept, my neck and everything else is in so much pain."

The crash took place at around 9.45pm on Thursday during a weekly meet of the modified car club Cruise Herts.

It was meant to be a static meet to raise money for the 4Louis charity, an organisation which supports those affected by miscarriage, stillbirth and the death of a baby or child, according to organisers.

Car did a donut before smash

Local residents had complained or raised concerns about the car meets, fearing there would be a serious crash.

Hertfordshire Constabulary Chief Inspector Alicia Shaw said police were unaware of the event - which had been advertised on Facebook - and an internal investigation will be launched into how it was missed.

Two people were seriously injured, she added.

Organiser Rix Sidhu, 29, said the crash involved a Nissan 350Z and a Toyota GT86.

He said: "We saw the car (Toyota) come into the car park and recklessly do a donut manoeuvre.

(Image: UK News in Pictures)

"It pulled out of the car park on to the main road and then it was hit by the Nissan, which was coming at speed.

"I'd say at least 60 or 70mph.

"I was walking down the main road to meet up with some friends and then I saw it happen.

"The cars collided and then went into the crowd at speed.

"There were several younger people in the crowd, but they weren't kids.

"They were about 18 years old-plus.

"It was horrific, the crash.

"We are first-aid trained, just in case, and members of the public were really good too, helping us get to those who were injured.

"There was one woman who couldn't walk, we had to get four of us to carry her to safety.

"I'm thankful that nobody died.

Club to stop holding meets

"Nobody wanted this, we try so hard to make sure this doesn't happen, we beg people not to race on the roads, if they want to race, there are places they can go for that, tracks where they can go at speed."

The Nissan owner has been named as 22-year-old Julian Castano, of Ingatestone, Essex. Police have not said who was driving the car.

Club organiser Mr Sidhu said the atmosphere afterwards was "horrendous", adding: "Me myself, as a club owner, I felt sick. This has obviously had a big impact on us.

"I think a lot of people were in shock and realistically now it has shown people just how dangerous it can be, racing here.

"To see an individual get cut out of his car was horrible.

"To see people on the floor not able to move, it wasn't a nice sight."

(Image: Facebook)

He said the group will stop holding meets due to the crash. The club's Facebook page was offline on Friday.

Mr Sidhu told The Comet had thought about calling the police just minutes before the crash.

He added: "I thought to myself that it was getting dangerous.

"You could see something might happen. I wanted to call them [the police] literally two minutes before."

Mr Sidhu told PA the meet had been running regularly for 17 years, providing a "safe space" for car enthusiasts to meet within a controlled, closed environment.

"But unfortunately some people went a bit rogue" and left the car park, where crowds lined the main road to capture footage of the vehicles at speed, he added.

He said: "We are devastated. I've been running this for 10 years and we have never had one incident.

"We were raising money for charity, as we often do, and there was no speed element to it.

"We held the meet in a car park with a speed bump at the entrance. But unfortunately some people went a bit rogue.

(Image: UK News in Pictures)

"We try and stop that, we urge people - urge them on social media beforehand - not to go out on the roads, not to risk injury or anything.

"But unfortunately, in this age of social media and Snapchat, people want to get footage and post things to their friends, which seems to drive some people to the main road."

He said the group has a liaison officer to pass number plates to police if there is trouble, and organisers were first-aid trained.

He added: "Some people like drinking and that sort of thing, we just like cars. They are our pride and joy, what we are interested in.

"Unfortunately this incident means we are all going to be tarred with the same brush - people will say we are boy racers."

Fellow organiser Dean Summerbee, 34, said drivers had been warned not to race or do donuts and burnouts.

Crash a 'nightmare'

He told the BBC: "It was horrific seeing it last night. It still plays over in my head in slow motion. I literally had to pull my mate out of the way.

"My thoughts go out to everyone who has been hurt. It's not something I'd like to relive again. I was extremely close to the crash, less than 15 feet away. I feel sorry for anyone who witnessed it. It was a nightmare last night."

A witness told how they narrowly avoided being involved in the smash, and helped two of the injured victims.

The witness tweeted: "I was also there and spent over an hour holding one of the girls while the paramedics turned up.

(Image: PA)

"It’s hard to process and I’m not quite sure this will hit me until the morning - I was sat on the grass bank and then moved across the road and sat on the other side approx 5 mins before it happened - may have been a decision that save me and my son.

"I hope the 2 injured girls I was with recover along with all the other injured parties."

Another witness said: "My thoughts and prayers are with all those poor kids who were struck by a car tonight in Stevenage at the car meet.

"Literally never seen a scene like it. Kids lying in the road everywhere missed it by about 10 seconds as was just turning round the roundabout."

Distressing footage shows crash

Another wrote on Twitter: "I've just witnessed that horrendous crash in Stevenage, no more than 50ft away from me. I'm still trying to process it all."

In distressing footage shared on social media, a Toyota GT86, pulls out of the Roaring Meg South car park - with its tyres squealing - and onto the road in front of a blue Nissan 350Z.

As the two cars scrape against each other they are sent in opposite directions with the Nissan crashing into pedestrians on the central reservation and the Toyota smashing into car enthusiasts on a pavement as many witnesses record video on their mobile phones.

A horrified witness shouts "Oh, s**t" as the cars veer out of control and slam into bystanders, sending them flying into the air.

Another video shows the crash and injured victims on the floor as people rush to their aid.

People scream in horror and a man screams at everyone to "get back" amid the panic.

A major incident was declared at Lister Hospital in Stevenage as emergency services dealt with the casualties.

An air ambulance landed near to the scene.

The victims were taken to three hospitals - Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Watford General Hospital and Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, to be treated for their injuries.

The damaged vehicles were removed from the scene and the road reopened hours later following an investigation by police.

Tyre skid marks were visible on the single carriageway section of A-road, which is in a non-residential area and passes a retail park, after daylight on Friday morning.

(Image: Hertfordshire Mercury)

Tyre marks were also visible in the car park where cars had done doughnuts.

Locals had complained about the meets in the past.

Local MP Stephen McPartland tweeted: My thoughts are with all those injured in the tragic accident in Stevenage last night.

"The behaviour of some individuals attending these car meets has been a concern for some time. @HertsPolice now have a big job to do to reassure our community."

Chief Inspector Shaw said: “We were not aware of this large-scale event last night. Previous events have been much smaller scale.

“We have attended those events and where necessary we have issued tickets or made arrests.

“Last night’s gathering we were not made aware of, police were at the scene very quickly along with other emergency services.”

She denied Stevenage was blighted by 'boy racers'.

She said: “There’s not a problem no more than anywhere else. I’ve seen car meets in other parts of the county and that will form a part of our investigation.”

Police are looking to speak to anyone with footage of the incident.

The car meet was described on Facebook as an "extra special meet" to raise money for families affected by stillbirth and miscarriage.

Organisers had warned against any illegal or inappropriate behaviour.

On the Cruise-Herts Facebook page, a post read: "This Thursday night meet is an extra special meet we as a group are raising money for the excellent charity of 4Louis who help supporting families through the heartache of miscarriage stillbirth and child loss.

"This is a Strictly Static Meet & Any Antisocial Behaviour Will Not be Tolerated! Any Such Behaviour will be Dealt with by the Local Authorities!! So strictly NO Wheel Spins NO Burnouts and NO Drifting."

In July 2015, some 17 people were injured after a Ford Fiesta ploughed into a group of bystanders at a car cruise event in Plymouth, Devon.

A 19-year-old woman died and four others suffered life-changing injuries at an unofficial "car cruise" at Trafford Park, Manchester, in May 2018.

Scott Watkins, 25, was jailed in October for nine years and nine months after he caused the death of Sophie Smith by dangerous driving as he lost control of a high-performance vehicle and ploughed into a group of onlookers.

His BMW 3 Series, a friend's courtesy car, was one of more than 60 high-performance and modified vehicles said to have taken part at the unregulated event.