Two men, aged 39 and 60 years old, and three women, aged 37, 22 and 65, were hospitalised after being hit by a car at 00:40 on Sunday 12 September. The incident occurred on Frederick Street at its junction connecting to Rose Street.
Police have said that the vehicle did not stop and attempted to flee the scene; the car then proceeded to crash into a bus on Lothian Road but there were no further injuries.
The incident occurred outside Bourbon nightclub which was promptly cleared out, as police carried on their investigation and blocked the street to stop unnecessary interference.
Many students, amongst other club-goers, who were out that Saturday night were confused and panicked when they were asked to leave Bourbon nightclub without any explanation.
One student, who was at Bourbon nightclub when the incident occurred early on Sunday morning, told The Student that:
“It was strange being asked to leave the club at around 01:30 without anyone telling us why. We could see all the police cars and ambulances and were obviously really concerned that something really bad had happened. We came up with stories in our heads of what it might have been until we found out the next day that it had been a car accident”.
Police blocked off several streets as they continued their investigation. This affected multiple bus services as they were unable to travel to parts of Lothian Road for the greater part of Sunday. The services that were affected included the 1, 10, 11, 16, 22, 24, 30, 34, 36, 47 and the 124 busses. The diversions were lifted at 14:00 the same day.
A number of shops in the area were also temporarily closed as the road remained closed on Sunday.
Police have said that the people involved are all in stable condition; four out of five of the injured people have since been discharged from the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
A 36-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the accident. It is not thought to be a targeted incident or associated with any existing medical condition. The identity of the arrested man has not yet been revealed.
Image: Geograph