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London Ambulance Service said nine of the 11 injured people were taken to a hospital for treatment of head or leg injuries. Officials said the injuries are not life-threatening. One woman was led away by a paramedic after Saturday’s crash, draped in a red blanket.

The large, coordinated police response to traffic accident reflects the high level of threats Britain has faced this year, including a spate of lethal attacks on London and Manchester, two of which involved vehicles hitting pedestrians. Britain has been on a “severe” terrorist threat level indicating an attack is viewed as highly likely.

Photo by @StefanoSutter / Handout via AFP/Getty Images

The crash took place on a day when the central London museum district is teeming with pedestrians. Photographs showed a dented silver car and a man being pinned to the ground outside the museum. A police forensics officer in blue coveralls took pictures of the crash site.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted that he was in close contact with Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, who plays a lead role in the police’s counter-terrorism operation.

Workers in a cafe near the Natural History Museum say they fled the scene in panic.

Marilin Mueller, 20, said she thought at first it was a traffic accident but then “loads of police cars” arrived.

“All of these police came marching down saying, ‘Move, move.’ They said, ‘you need to evacuate,’” she said.

Photo by @StefanoSutter / Handout via AFP/Getty Images

Dieon Rurora said people were running down the street to get away and some fell.

“It was quite scary,” he said.

The Natural History Museum closed after the crash but its neighbor, the famed Victoria and Albert Museum, remained open.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was briefed on the incident. She later thanked the first responders and the public for their help and said her thoughts were with the injured.



Associated Press writer Paisley Dodds contributed.