Hunt for driver after hit-run in Melbourne CBD

"The Toyota Camry took off and has struck three vehicles travelling on A’Beckett Street and a male pedestrian," a spokeswoman said.

"The male driver and a male passenger abandoned the vehicle on A’Beckett Street and fled the scene on foot."

The driver has been described as Caucasian, 183 centimetresm tall with his hair tied back and wearing a high vis top.

The passenger is also described as Caucasian with a solid build short brown hair, aged in his 20s-30s and wearing a grey top.

Police helicopters are hovering low as they circle the north city searching for the suspects in the A'Beckett Street crash.

The silver new model Camry sedan was apparently heading east on A'Beckett when it struck a traffic light at speed, taking out the pole and sending debris flying across the road.

One side of the car and the front tyre is destroyed. Dozens of shocked pedestrians watched on as police examined the scene.

VicRoads have urged motorists to avoid the northern end of the CBD. A'Beckett Street is closed in both directions, and there are restrictions for surrounding streets including Queen Street and William Street. Police say the incident is not terror-related.

Diners at the nearby Buza Chicken restaurant were sitting just metres away when the car careered into the traffic pole.

Witnesses said pedestrians were waiting to cross when the falling traffic light pole landed on one man, pinning him underneath.

It’s understood three more pedestrians were also injured. Nearby business have not been evacuated, but Powercor is on scene.

The driver involved in the Market Street crash had allegedly also hit a white Toyota Corolla.

The driver of the car that was hit, Nikau, who declined to give her last name, said she was in a bit of shock, but was feeling OK.

"He hit us and kept going," she said.

She said she was in the car with another female passenger and was turning at the intersection of Collins and Williams streets when the car was hit.

"We're all good, we're on our way to work," she said.

"We're very lucky."

Witness Oliver Warren, who lives in the CBD, was walking his dog when he heard a vehicle hit a tram on the corner of La Trobe and William streets at about 5.15pm.

"I heard an almighty crash, and the tram stopped across the intersection. The tram kept going and I didn't see another car, but when I got up to the intersection at Queen Street there was broken plastic all over the ground and people looking at what had happened," he said.

Mr Warren said that when he walked around the corner, to the intersection of Queen and A'Beckett streets, he saw the car had crashed into a pole.

"As I got there, police were turning up. I walked past and a guy was lying on the ground with his face down, being attended to by paramedics. I didn't look that closely, but he didn't look in a good way, a bit contorted, I guess it was just the way he landed."

As he continued walking through Queen Victoria Market, he saw several police officers from the Critical Incident Response Team get out of a black 4WD and talk to some pedestrians who were pointing them down a laneway.

"Police turned up and bystanders were directing police down the laneway," he said.

Office worker Karen told 3AW that she was leaving work when she saw a car driving erratically along Collins Street before it turned into William Street.

"I heard an almighty screech of tyres and and saw (the car) come up Collins Street, it hit a car in Collins, turned into William and hit a car and was speeding up William and has gone through red light," she said.

"And I just thought I hope no one gets hit, he just didn't care about lights or anything, I feel quite shaken.

"It looked like a small white car, like a Honda."

The smashed car at the scene of the incident.
Photo: Joe Armao

Witness John also told the radio station that he saw pedestrians on the ground on A'Beckett Street.

"They were lying on the footpath, people were attending to them," he said, adding that the whole front of the car was smashed in.

Emergency services workers at the scene.
Photo: Joe Armao

Troy Naismith was watching from the balcony of City Tempo apartments when the stolen car raced down A'Beckett Street.

"I don't think he knew where he was going. He came up over the gutter, hit the signpost, ping-ponged into this car here, and then into the traffic light, knocked it over, then got out of the car and ran away," he said.

"I wanted to come down and help but I figured the people down here already saw what I saw.

"It all would have taken about 20 seconds. I don't know if he hit someone, or he hit the traffic light and it fell over and hit someone."

He said he couldn't see the man's features, but he was wearing a hoodie.

"I hope whoever it was is OK," Mr Naismith said.

A witness said they saw the car driving north on William Street Bourke and Lonsdale Streets along the tram tracks at about 80km/h shortly after 5pm.

Witness David Germain said the car hit a small BMW and white Corolla hatchback at Williams and Collins streets about 5.18pm. Mr Germain said the female BMW driver and two women in the Corolla were not injured.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the initial call came in at 5.17pm that a car had hit a group of people.

"We have one patient, we treated a man in his 20s-30s and he was taken by road ambulance to The Alfred hospital in a stable condition," she said.

She said Ambulance Victoria then received a call at 5.25pm of reports of a car hitting a traffic pole on the intersection of Collins Street and Market Street.

"Two patients were assessed at scene, both refused to be transported to hospital, both are in a stable condition," she said.

with Erin Pearson

More to come.