A rush-hour crowd of people leaving work or headed to dinner was stunned last night when a Mercedes-Benz mounted a divider on Tanjong Pagar Road, hit a lorry on the other side, then ploughed into four people waiting to cross the road on the traffic island.

Dozens of witnesses saw the collision, which took place just outside Amara Hotel at about 6.30 pm.

Three men and a woman, ranging in age from 23 to 56, were taken to hospital, while the 41-year-old driver was arrested for suspected drink driving.

The Straits Times understands that the woman, a Singaporean, suffered lacerations and abrasions.

Two of the men were also Singaporean. One was admitted to intensive care for observation while the other suffered a fractured nose.

The fourth, an Australian, is believed to have a spinal cord injury.

Mr Theo Ofori, 30, a tourist from Ghana, said the accident happened right in front of him, as he was standing outside Amara Hotel. He said the Mercedes appeared to have lost control when it hit the pedestrians. After it collided with the lorry and hit the pedestrians, the car then knocked into a Trans-Cab taxi.

"They were thrown to the ground. One was bleeding severely from the head after the accident," he said, adding that ambulances arrived within five minutes of the accident.

Mr Murali Tamilselvan, 35, who works in the hotel industry, was eating at a restaurant nearby when the accident happened.

"I heard the sound of tyres screeching and a loud bang, then people screaming," he said.

Another eyewitness, a 30-year-old French woman who declined to be named, said: "I was shocked. The Mercedes drove onto the road divider and just knocked into the four people standing there."

Police are investigating.