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A man has been charged after a car allegedly drove into a group of people outside a pub in a South Australian seaside town, leaving one person with life-threatening injuries.
According to SA Police, an altercation happened outside the Royal Family Hotel on North Terrace in Port Elliot in the early hours of Saturday, before a blue Ford sedan collided with a group of people and left the area.
Paramedics were called to the scene in the early hours of Saturday morning. (Supplied: Gary Juleff)
Inspector Gene Vaninetti said the pub was closing for the night and patrons "spilled out onto the street".
"We believe that the group was out the front of the hotel near the verandah area, the car has reversed into that crowd and potentially pinned some people against the wall, so to speak, hence causing pretty significant injuries," he said.
Inspector Vaninetti said the car "was accelerated at speed into a group of people".
He said a 22-year-old Hindmarsh Island man suffered "significant leg injuries", which were life-threatening, and he was flown to hospital in Adelaide.
Four other people — a 21-year-old man from Goolwa Beach, a 37-year-old woman from Port Elliot, a 20-year-old woman from Inman Valley and a 30-year-old man from Blackwood — were all treated in hospital for minor injuries.
Inspector Vaninetti said one of the injured people was a worker at the pub.
A blue Ford sedan allegedly involved in a crash outside a pub at Port Elliot. (ABC News)
Police said the driver of the suspected vehicle returned to the scene a short time later and was arrested.
The 37-year-old man has been charged with offences including causing harm by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of a crash.
He has been refused police bail to appear before the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Inspector Vaninetti said the vehicle believed to have been involved in the incident was located nearby on Sturt Street.
He said there was an altercation at the front of the hotel but police were "uncertain what led to the confrontation".
Inspector Gene Vaninetti says an altercation happened outside the pub before the collision. (ABC News: Olivia Mason)
"There was certainly an altercation to that degree out the front [but], again, we've only got a very small piece of the story at this time," he said.
"There was obviously a lot more that occurred that caused that to happen, and that's what we're trying to determine at this time.
"But what happened after that altercation is, obviously, completely unacceptable."
The crash happened outside the Royal Family Hotel at Port Elliot. (ABC News: Olivia Mason)
Inspector Vaninetti said there were "in excess of 10 to 15 people" involved in the incident outside the licensed premises.
He urged any witnesses or victims who had not yet spoken to police, or anyone with video footage of the incident, to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.