FOUR Manning residents have spoken of a city silenced in the wake of the Melbourne CBD tragedy.
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Manning River Times journalist Laura Polson, visiting Victoria for the Australian Open, left Flinders Street station about 10 minutes before the incident occurred.
She and her companions, Brooke Shaw and James Kennedy of Old Bar and Taree’s Ben Graham, saw a crowd turn towards the maroon car nearby.
“People were trying to stop him,” Ms Polson said.
“It all seemed strange and unsafe and I warned the group we should stay back.
“The car sped off and we walked to the Yarra River but the sirens would not stop.”
Moments later the incident would escalate as the car crashed through crowds on Bourke Street, killing a man and a woman aged in their 30s and a child.
More than a dozen people were taken to hospital, including an infant. At least five were in critical condition on Friday night.
Ms Polson and her group approached Bourke Street about half an hour later, seeing “a mass of ambulances and police cars”.
“All of us felt sick and shaken by what we saw,” she said.
“The city felt frantic but quiet at the same time.”
Mr Graham said the whole thing felt surreal, while Ms Shaw described it as “not what you expect”.
Mr Kennedy said there was an eerie feeling over Melbourne.
"It felt like the city went quiet,” Mr Kennedy said.