At least two people were killed, and seven others injured after a driver crashed into a Manhattan park Thursday night during a Fourth of July celebration, authorities said.

The incident happened just before 9 p.m. on the Lower East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.

NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said in a press conference on Thursday that the driver of a Ford F-150 pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed and ran through a stop sign at the intersection.

The suspect's grey pickup truck then traveled onto the sidewalk where it struck people who were at a Fourth of July celebration, according to Maddrey.

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Signage for the New York City Police Department. (New York Police Department)

First responders at the scene found the truck on top of four victims, police said.

Authorities said that nine people were struck, and at least two were killed.  

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Maddrey said they are still working to determine the ages of the victims, but they believe at least two children were taken to the hospital.

Police say that responding officers smelled alcohol at the scene, but tests are ongoing.

The New York Police Department said that a driver drove into a group of people celebrating the Fourth of July. (iStock)

Police said that they do not believe this was a terrorism-related event. 

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In a post on X, the NYPD asked people to avoid the area of Water Street and Jackson Street so they could investigate the incident.