Man charged after a car plowed into a crowd outside a British pub
A forensic investigator works on the scene in Friar Gate, Derby, Sunday March 29, 2026, where a number of people had been injured, some of them seriously, after being hit by a car in the city centre on Saturday night. Credit: AP/Jacob King
LONDON — A man charged after a car plowed into a crowd outside a pub in the English city of Derby over the weekend, injuring seven people, appeared in court Wednesday and was jailed pending trial.
Sandhu Ponnachan, 36, appeared in Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on six counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, one count of attempted grievous bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article.
He didn't enter a plea.
Counterterrorism officers assisted local police in the investigation, but Derbyshire police said that is common practice for this type of incident and they were “keeping an open mind” about the incident.
The crash occurred at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday on Friar Gate, a popular night spot in central Derby, a city of about 275,000 people northeast of Birmingham.
The victims, four men and three women, were aged between 36 and 52. Four have been discharged from hospital, Derbyshire police said.
Ponnachan was ordered to appear in Derby Crown Court on April 29.
Forensic investigators work on the scene in Friar Gate, Derby, Sunday March 29, 2026, where a number of people had been injured, some of them seriously, after being hit by a car in the city centre on Saturday night. Credit: AP/Jacob King
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