On Saturday afternoon, the man in the car allegedly first hit several people in central Modena, then got out of the vehicle and tried to stab a passerby who tried to stop him.
According to witnesses, he drove onto the sidewalk at high speed and fled after crashing the car into a facade.
He was driving at least 100 kilometers per hour, a witness said, according to Ansa.
The suspect was arrested after being overpowered by several members of the public.
The two most seriously injured were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Bologna. One of them, a 55-year-old woman, has life-threatening injuries and is reported to have lost her legs.
"My condolences to the injured and their families. I also thank the citizens who bravely intervened to stop the perpetrator and the police for their intervention," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote in a post on X.
The city's mayor, Massimo Mezzetti, describes it as a "tragic event."
"I am deeply shocked. Regardless of its nature, it is a very serious incident," he said at the scene, Ansa writes.
