Two people walking on a sidewalk in downtown Westport remained hospitalized Thursday after an SUV drove into them the night before, according to police.

It happened on Imperial Avenue around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said a Mercedes-Benz SUV was heading north toward Post Road East when the driver veered off the road and onto the sidewalk, hitting a man and a woman. Both were rushed to the hospital in critical condition with significant injures, said police.

The driver remained on scene and is cooperating with the investigation, police stated.

Penny Yi owns the nearby nail salon, Le Beaute Artistry, and was driving in the opposite direction on Imperial Avenue when the crash occurred.

“I saw a black Mercedes, and he was just swerving and hitting the retainer wall, and I was a little bit nervous because I thought he would hit my car. So, I came to a stop, and I could see on his face that he was really in shock and trying to stop the car,” Yi told News 12.

She said the driver did manage to stop in the Post Road East intersection.

“As I continued forward, I saw two bodies lying down, one on the sidewalk, one on the grass,” Yi recalled. “I was really shocked.”

Yi called 911, and police quickly responded.

Rich Dean, who owns Rich Dean Boxing and Fitness next door to Yi’s business, said officers closed off their parking lot and the street, temporarily detouring traffic for a couple of hours.

“It was a horrible thing to see - two people on the ground,” Dean said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Pink marks made by officers on the road and sidewalk show the path the SUV took. It first drove onto the sidewalk right after the stop sign on Imperial Avenue. That’s about 600 feet from the light at the intersection with Post Road East.

“There has been some speculation online, on social media, that the driver was possibly trying to get through the light and blew through that stop sign,” Lt. Jillian Cabana said. “But the driver had stopped at that stop sign prior to traveling northbound.”

Cabana told News 12 the two pedestrians are from surrounding towns and in their early 30s or late 20s.

Police also asked anyone who witnessed the crash or has information on it to contact Detective Erin Shaw at 203-341-6023.