A witness has claimed that the driver who ploughed into crowds and injured 47 at Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade had just left a nearby bar moments before.
A total of 27 people have been taken to hospital following the horrific incident, with four still seriously injured – including a child who was one of four people still trapped under car when firefighters arrived. The other casualties were treated at the scene.
Dramatic footage captured just before the chaos unfolded shows the man’s Ford Galaxy being surrounded and attacked by angry fans as he attempts to reverse out of the packed street.
Supporters – alarmed by the car’s erratic movements in the dense crowd – can be seen hitting the windows and kicking the tires.
One man even rips off the rear windscreen wiper and appears to try smashing a window before jumping out of the way to avoid being run over before the car then sped off down the road.
Authorities have confirmed the incident is not being treated as terrorism and that the man in custody, a white British male from Liverpool, is believed to have been the driver of the vehicle.
The shocking collision occurred around 6pm on Monday on Water Street, which was not on a list of roads to be closed for the parade to celebrate Liverpool’s 20th league title.
A key question is how a car managed to get near a parade involving up to a million people given previous incidents of vehicles being driven into crowds.
Witnesses reported the car was travelling at 30mph and had been sounding its horn as it edged through the dense crowd – prompting angry fans to ask ‘what are you doing?’ before it suddenly accelerated, swerved, and mounted the pavement.
They described how ‘all hell broke’ loose and people ‘were flying in all directions’ as car ploughed into the tightly packed crowd for 200 yards.
Emergency services rushed to the scene, and 27 people, including four children, were taken to hospitals across the city
Authorities say both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper are being kept fully briefed on the developing situation
A 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area was swiftly detained by police
Police officers walk along Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool city centre this morning
Police tents surrounded by debris at the scene in Water Street the morning after the terrifying incident
Sims stressed the event is being treated as an isolated incident, and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the crash
As police continue to question the driver, this is how the horrific incident unfolded –
- Up to 1 million fans had lined the streets to celebrate Liverpool’s title victory;
- Parade began at Allerton Maze south of the city before ending on the Strand;
- Chaos erupted on Water Street, about a mile before the parade’s endpoint;
- The bus had only recently passed the attendees when a vehicle rammed crowds;
- A 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area arrested, police said;
- Twenty-seven people taken to hospital; further 20 were treated at the scene;
- Four people trapped under the car, including a child, rescued by firefighters;
- Police said the horrific incident was not being treated as terrorism.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims of Merseyside Police said: ‘My thoughts are with all those injured in tonight’s horrific incident.
‘This had been a joyous day in Liverpool with hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets to celebrate Liverpool Football Club’s parade.
‘Sadly, at 6pm as the parade was drawing to a close, we received reports that a car was in collision with a number of pedestrians in Water Street.’
Sims stressed the event is being treated as an isolated incident, and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the crash.
‘We believe this to be an isolated incident and are not currently looking for anyone else. The incident is not being treated as terrorism,’ she said.
The police chief urged the public not to speculate or spread misinformation online, and thanked emergency workers and bystanders who rushed to help the injured.
Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said this morning there are ‘still four people who are very, very ill in hospital’.
Asked whether that reflects an increase on the previous number of seriously injured – given by authorities last night as one adult and one child – he told BBC 5 Live: ‘No, not directly, but of course we’re in liaison with the police and with the ambulance services.’
Video circulating online showed the people carrier moving slowly along the crowded street. Pedestrians appeared to stop it and try and pull the driver from the passenger seat, shouting ‘what are you doing?’
Jack Trotter (pictured) was struck by the driver on Water Street, shortly after 6pm. He had been out celebrating his team’s league title win during the club’s victory parade
Police officers investigate the scene of an incident in Water Street, on the sidelines of an open-top bus victory parade for Liverpool’s Premier League title win
A large emergency service presence is pictured on Water Street during the Liverpool Trophy Parade
Liverpool is waking up after the trophy parade descended into horror in Liverpool
The scene of where the car ploughed into crowds on Water Street is seen this morning
A large forensic tent protected the scene of the crash this morning as police continued gathering evidence
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It reversed before suddenly accelerated into the tightly packed crowd of supporters, with witnesses describing the screams of victims and the sickening thud of bodies being flung over the bonnet.
The vehicle accelerated veering right then left, travelling across the street mounting the pavement, hitting men, women and even a baby, witnesses said.
When the car eventually slowed to a stop, angry fans surged forward hitting it, throwing bottles, screaming ‘kill him’ as others attempted to lift the vehicle to rescue pedestrians trapped under the wheels.
Within seconds, the driver was dragged from his seat before police intervened.
The shocking incident took place only days after a run in one of the city’s parks to commemorate the lives of the Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
Ninety-seven football fans were fatally injured in a terrace crush at an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.
A source told the Mail that the driver appeared to have ‘tailgated’ an ambulance down Water Street, which had been closed to traffic.
‘It looks as if he has panicked when he realised he was in the crowd and people began banging on his car,’ the insider said.
‘Instead of going back the way he came he’s got angry and put his foot down, it’s absolutely devastating.’
Pictured: The man who was driving the car in Liverpool
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Mark Leavy told the Mail: ‘I will never forget the noise of the people being hit and I will never forget the look on a policeman’s face and his uniform covered in blood.
‘My God, what he must have seen.’
Patrick Milligan, 25, from Wigan said: ‘We all had the best day of our lives watching the parade and then it was like a tsunami within about 5 minutes of the parade finishing. It was horrific.
‘The car just swerved into the crowd at speed and everyone was screaming.’
Dave Kitchin, head of North West Ambulance Service, confirmed the scale of the response: ‘Twenty-seven patients were taken to hospital, including four children. One of the children and another member of the public sustained serious injuries.’
He said several ambulances, plus hazard response teams, the air ambulance and senior clinicians arrived within minutes to treat the casualties.
One victim, Jack Trotter, told the BBC from his hospital bed that he was in ‘absolute agony’ after he and his girlfriend Abbie Gallagher were hit by the car.
Mr Trotter, from Newtownards, County Down, had come to the parade with friends from Northern Ireland.
Counter Terrorism Policing North West are assisting Merseyside Police in the investigation. The driver’s identity has not yet been released.
Witnesses described utter carnage as the vehicle drove through the narrow, packed street.
Fans were flung from the bonnet amid horrifying screams. As the car finally came to a halt, a furious crowd surrounded it.
One witness said: ‘It’s horrific. He must have run over about 20 to 30 people. I saw it and only survived because I got into a side street.
‘The police dragged the (driver) out and arrested him straight away.’
Dramatic footage later emerged online showing the moment of impact and the frenzied aftermath, with people smashing the vehicle and police officers struggling to restrain the crowd.
Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters. He told reporters: ‘It happened about 10 feet away from us.
‘This grey people carrier just pulled up from the right and just rammed into all the people at the side of us.
‘It was extremely fast. Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.’
Another witness alleged that the driver may have been drunk after they claimed they saw them leave a nearby Hooters bar. This however does not appear to be correct as the vehicle seemingly came to a halt outside the bar.
Liverpool City Council Leader Liam Robinson said the crash had cast a ‘very dark shadow’ over what had been a joyful celebration.
He said: ‘I’d like to start by saying on behalf of everyone in Liverpool how much our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this appalling incident in the city centre.’
Police officers cover area with an inflatable tent to preserve evidence
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The leader praised the emergency services and NHS staff who responded quickly and are continuing to support the injured.
‘I would appeal for people please not to share the horrifying footage of the incident on social media – please if you have information forward it to Merseyside Police to help them with their investigation,’ he said.
‘Once again, our hearts go out to those affected. Liverpool is a city that has a proud history of coming together and supporting each other during challenging times. I’ve no doubt that will be the case over the coming days and weeks.’
Another bystander, Chelsea Yuen, said: ‘We were literally like sardines walking up the street and when we looked up, there was a black, people carrier, driving straight towards us.
‘Me and my friend Francesca jumped out the way and pulled her little girl out the way.’
Frankie, 24, who survived the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, was also caught in the incident.
She said: ‘I was at the Manchester Arena incident. I don’t want to go out again. The side of the car went into me and I fell to the floor. It’s all a blur. I’ve got cuts and bruises and I’ll be fine but there’s loads who have got more severe injuries.’
Robby Potter, one of the most seriously-injured people to survive the Manchester Arena bombing after being blasted through the heart with shrapnel told how he was ‘seconds’ down the street from the carnage.
The ‘shaking’ Liverpool fan, from Wirral, said police and officials should have been aware of the risk of a potential incident away from the parade route itself.
He said: ‘I was 10 seconds in front. I’m shaking. I said areas away from the main parade could be targets. I said this in interviews.’
Mr Potter said some of the crowd went back seeking to attack the driver.
Four people were seen being carried away on stretchers, while another man was pictured leaning heavily on a police officer for support.
One onlooker, Matthew O’Carroll, 28, from Runcorn, saw the car approaching the top of Water Street.
He said the vehicle went past a parked police van at a ‘decent’ speed and that the driver was beeping as he went through the crowd.
Meanwhile, witness Mike Maddra said he ‘car turned left, mounted pavement, come towards us and runs towards the buildings’.
He said: ‘we got out the way and it was speeding up’.
Mr Maddra said he thought he saw two people being hit and added, ‘it looked deliberate’.
Social media video also showed angry fans converging on the vehicle as it came to a stop, smashing windows before police intervened.
Witnesses told The Guardian the whole ordeal lasted 20-30 seconds, and the first victim was thrown ‘about 20 feet’ in the air.
Dan Ogunshakin, an off-duty BBC reporter attending the parade, told the public broadcaster he saw people hitting the car before it reversed and then ‘it suddenly accelerated forwards’, straight towards the surrounding crowd.
‘What had once been an atmosphere of celebration and joy and happiness suddenly turned into fear and terror and disbelief,’ he said.
‘People were gathering around the car. Shaking it, hitting it and people were getting quite angry.
‘People did scatter incredibly quickly but no real surprise because the car did accelerate very very quickly
‘All of a sudden it was like all hell had broken loose. People were flying in all directions. We saw a gentleman come towards us who was inconsolable – in floods of tears’
Authorities have confirmed the incident is not being treated as terrorism, and the man in custody, a white British male from Liverpool, is believed to have been the driver of the vehicle
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said she won’t ‘make judgments’ on Merseyside Police’s decision to reveal details about the identity of the man arrested.
Asked if the police had ‘changed tack’ she told Times Radio: ‘These are operational matters for the police, and it’s for the police to determine how they will respond. ‘I don’t think it’s right for politicians to make judgments on that, but I would just add that the police were on the scene rapidly and responded to what was a really horrendous incident.
‘And I pay tribute to those first responders, police and other emergency services, for their tremendous bravery, for everything they’ve done, but also to the community in the way that they’re pulling together in light of this tragedy.’
She added: ‘As I understand it, the police had ensured that traffic controls were in place, but you’ll appreciate I don’t want to get into speculating at this stage on what has happened.’
Merseyside police insisted a ‘robust’ traffic management plan had been in place for the parade.
‘In the lead-up to this event we had been working closely with event organisers and a robust traffic management plan was put in place for the parade, which included a number of road closures throughout the route and the city centre,’ Jenny Sims, assistant chief constable, said.
BBC reporter Matt Cole, who had been at the parade with his family, narrowly avoided being struck.
He said: ‘There were screams ahead of us and suddenly this dark blue car just came through the crowd. I managed to grab my daughter who was with me and jump out of the way.
‘It missed myself and my family by literally inches.’
Daniel Jones, 28, told The Sun: ‘A lot of people were evidently really angry. They were smashing [the car] up. Police were trying to restrain them. The back of the window was completely smashed. They were ripping the register plate off.’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: ‘The scenes in Liverpool are appalling — my thoughts are with all those injured or affected. I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was also said to have been kept fully briefed as the investigation unfolded.
Restaurants along Water Street opened their doors to help those affected. Paddy Edrich, a reporter from the Liverpool Post, wrote on X: ‘People inside Riva are being treated by paramedics.
Some have bandages around their heads and limbs. Staff in the restaurant appear to be providing fluids to those being treated and the emergency services.’
Liverpool FC issued a statement, saying: ‘We are in direct contact with Merseyside Police regarding the incident on Water Street which happened towards the end of the trophy parade earlier this evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident.’
Former Liverpool stars Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler expressed their sorrow online. Carragher wrote: ‘Devastating end to the day… just pray everyone is ok’, while Fowler posted: ‘Heartbreaking news… absolutely sickened with what’s happened here in Liverpool.’
The Premier League sent its ‘heartfelt thoughts’ to all those ‘injured and affected’ by the incident.
The horrific scenes marred what had been an afternoon of jubilant celebrations, as fans packed the 10-mile parade route, which began at Allerton Maze and made its way through the city with players including Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk waving from an open-top bus.
Despite earlier showers, fans lined the route in their thousands, waving flags, setting off flares and chanting as the team celebrated their first title since 2020.
Anyone with information or footage of the incident has been urged to contact Merseyside Police.
Liverpool FC legend Kenny Dalglish, said he is ‘horrified’ by yesterday’s incident.
‘Our anthem has never felt more appropriate, You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ he said. ‘Your Liverpool family are behind you.’