Multiple injuries on the spot. [Calvin Zhou / China Daily]

A speeding car crashed into pedestrians on a sidewalk in New York City's busy Times Square on Thursday, causing multiple injuries, killing one person and injuring a dozen, according to witnesses, and police said the incident did not appear to be an act of terrorism.

The New York Police Department closed off the area. The city's fire department said there were 13 casualties.

Hundreds of thousands of people, many of them tourists from around the world, pass daily through the bustling commercial area, the heart of the Broadway theater district.

The New York Police Department closed off the area. [Calvin Zhou / China Daily]

A Reuters witness said at least 10 people were being treated for injuries on the ground after the collision at the Midtown Manhattan tourist site.

Television footage showed police officers restraining a man in a dark T-shirt and placing him in a police car.

Cheryl Howard and her daughter were out shopping when the car sped down the sidewalk. "I'm so freaked out!" the daughter said. "They mowed everyone down."

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