A driver was on bail when he allegedly went on a late-night rampage through Melbourne's CBD, forcing Swanston Street pedestrians to run for their lives.
 A motorist mounted the footpath about 11pm on Tuesday, driving erratically and at high speeds before ramming his white SUV into ANZ and Commonwealth bank branches.
He then drove on to Crown Casino, where his car smashed through glass doors and came to a stop at the base of an escalator. The man was eventually arrested in the middle of the gaming room floor.Â
A man was taken to hospital under police guard and later charged with a range of offences, including five counts of criminal damage, conduct endangering life, dangerous driving, possess a controlled weapon, commit an indictable offence while on bail and fail to answer bail.
The 34-year-old Burwood East man was due to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Inspector Stephen Cooper said at one point the driver stopped at a pedestrian crossing to allow one person to pass safely.
"We are assured because of the fact that the vehicle did stop, the intent wasn't to cause any harm to any of the pedestrians," he said.
Inspector Cooper said the man's motive was not clear, but ruled out any "allegations of terrorism".
"At this stage, we can't find any links between the driver of the vehicle and the businesses that have been affected," he said.
Footage from the rampage shows pedestrians screaming and running to get out of the path of the vehicle, which can be seen ramming the ANZ branch on the corner of Swanston and Little Bourke streets.
A homeless man, Stuart Hicks, said he screamed at pedestrians to move.
"[The driver] was going up towards Chinatown so I ran at him ... Then he turned the car around and I ran at him again and [made him] swerve into the bank … to stop him going onto the footpath," Mr Hicks told Channel Nine.
"He would've been in Chinatown running people over if he didn't crash into the bank … It was lucky, so lucky no one got run over."
The frightening scene follows January's Bourke Street Mall tragedy, when accused killer Dimitrious Gargasoulas allegedly sped down Swanston Street in a stolen car before turning onto Bourke Street, killing six pedestrians and injuring dozens more.
No one was injured in Tuesday night's rampage.
One witness who had just taken his children to the Brazil vs Australia soccer match at the MCG told radio station 3AWÂ he had to jump out of the vehicle's path.
Another witness, who was working at pastry franchise Pie Face, said the car was travelling about 60km/h down Swanston Street and narrowly missed a homeless person.
"I was serving customers and then I saw this white Honda CRV. He came through really fast," the man told Channel Seven.Â
It's believed police did not try to intercept the vehicle.
"We believe the response we had was appropriate ... but we are reviewing all aspects of it, looking at the timeframes in terms of our response to it and whether we can improve in the future," Inspector Cooper said.
The rampage comes just days after anti-terror concrete bollards were installed in Federation Square and Bourke Street.
The temporary concrete bollards - which will be replaced by permanent features - were installed on Saturday as part of a $10 million safety upgrade for the CBD.
Premier Daniel Andrews said more bollards would be placed elsewhere in the CBD, but for security reasons he could not reveal the locations.
No bollards were placed on Swanston Street at the weekend.
However, CBD resident David, who lives with his partner and eight-month-old son, said Swanston Street did not need them.Â
"It's a knee-jerk reaction," he said. "Where do you stop putting bollards?"
Antonella, who didn't want to give her last name, works on the corner of Swanston and Bourke streets.
She said bollards should have been installed at Swanston Street.
"I think more people travel [up and down] Swanston Street," she said. "It is easy to mount the footpath in Swanston Street. It is so wide a car can easily fit here. It's very scary."
Last month, Mr Andrews said Melbourne's tram network made permanent security barriers impractical.
with Tammy Mills