--- description: At least 18 people were injured after a minivan rammed into pedestrians near a Starbuck’s coffee shop in Shanghai on Friday morning. title: 18 Hurt as Van Crashes Outside Starbucks in Shanghai image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93dfe2fe4102cb6d/6988fa56e76ad2b8be630ddc/gettyimages-913222380.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [China](/tag/china/) ## China Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # More Than a Dozen Hurt as Van Crashes Outside Starbucks in Shanghai  by [Charlie Campbell / Beijing](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell / Beijing Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:23 PM CUTPublished: Feb 2, 2018 4:12 AM CUT  Police officers stand in front of a Starbucks in Shanghai on February 2, 2018, after a van caught fire and ploughed into pedestrians on a crowded pavement outside the coffee chain injuring at least 18 people, three of them seriously, authorities and witnesses said. The incident occurred in the heart of the city when crowds of residents would have been on their way to work. / AFP PHOTO / Johannes EISELE (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images) Police officers stand in front of a Starbucks in Shanghai on February 2, 2018, after a van caught fire and ploughed into pedestrians on a crowded pavement outside the coffee chain injuring at least 18 people, three of them seriously, authorities and witnesses said. The incident occurred in the heart of the city when crowds of residents would have been on their way to work. / AFP PHOTO / Johannes EISELE (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)JOHANNES EISELE—AFP/Getty Images  by [Charlie Campbell / Beijing](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell / Beijing Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:23 PM CUTPublished: Feb 2, 2018 4:12 AM CUT At least 18 people were injured after a minivan rammed into pedestrians near a Starbuck’s coffee shop in downtown Shanghai on Friday morning. Amateur video footage showed bodies strewn along a sidewalk on Nanjing West Road as emergency services rushed casualties to hospital. Police said they believed the 9.15 am crash was caused by the 40-year old driver, surnamed Chen, smoking inside the van, accidentally setting gas canisters he was carrying alight. Eyewitnesses reported several people trapped under the van, which was seen smoldering after crashing against a tree. The Shanghai government said three of the injured are in critical condition. Starbucks has at least 600 shops in Shanghai. “A car plowed into pedestrians in downtown Shanghai Friday morning, leaving 18 hospitalized, 3 of them severely injured, local authorities say. Cause is still under investigation,” China’s state-run _People’s Daily_ newspaper reported. > [](https://twitter.com/wenshixiu/status/959259095814434817) _This is a developing story._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5129954/shanghai-van-starbucks-injured/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5129954/shanghai-van-starbucks-injured/"},"headline":"More Than a Dozen Hurt as Van Crashes Outside Starbucks in Shanghai","datePublished":"2018-02-02T04:12:52.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T22:23:11.000Z","description":"The cause of the incident remains under investigation","url":"https://time.com/5129954/shanghai-van-starbucks-injured/","keywords":["China","Starbucks","Shanghai","Crash","terrorist","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93dfe2fe4102cb6d/6988fa56e76ad2b8be630ddc/gettyimages-913222380.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlie Campbell / Beijing"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93dfe2fe4102cb6d/6988fa56e76ad2b8be630ddc/gettyimages-913222380.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CHINA-ACCIDENT","caption":"CHINA-ACCIDENT","creditText":"JOHANNES EISELE—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/china/","name":"China"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5129954/shanghai-van-starbucks-injured/","name":"More Than a Dozen Hurt as Van Crashes Outside Starbucks in Shanghai"}}]}] ```