Person questioned for attempted murder and drug-driving after Liverpool parade crash: 65 individuals, including children, hurt in incident where car pursued ambulance past barrier.

The police announced today that a 53-year-old man who was arrested following a car crashing into Liverpool fans during a trophy parade is being charged with attempted murder, dangerous driving offenses, and driving under the influence of drugs.

Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Jaundrill of Merseyside Police informed the media that there were 65 confirmed casualties, including children, as a result of the incident on Water Street in the city center the previous day.

During a press briefing, it was disclosed that 50 individuals had been hospitalized due to the event and are currently undergoing treatment, with all showing signs of a positive recovery.

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said the force believed the Ford Galaxy was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted. 

‘It is believed the driver of the Ford Galaxy car involved in this incident was able to follow an ambulance onto Water Street after the road block was temporarily lifted so that the ambulance crew could attend to a member of the public who was having a heart attack,’ she said. 

‘As with many large events, with event organisers we planned for all contingencies and this included the implementation of road closures to protect pedestrians and an armed policing presence was also in place throughout the day.’

Police said the white British man who had been arrested was from West Derby on Merseyside. An ‘extensive investigation’ remains ongoing, with Merseyside Police receiving help from neighbouring forces. 

As police continue to question the driver, this is how the horrific incident unfolded –

• Up to 1million 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;
• Princess Anne paid a surprise visit to the Royal University Hospital;
• Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to visit the cordon this evening 

Up to 1million Liverpool fans had gathered to celebrate the club winning the Premier League title with a 10-mile trophy parade through the city centre.

But the celebration turned to carnage at around 6pm when a row broke out between the driver and spectators. Footage on social media appears to show a man banging on the window after the driver backed into the crowd surrounding the vehicle.

Another man then approaches the car and kicks the rear windscreen, prompting the driver to reverse back into him. 

Tensions mount as the car moves back and forth, with at least two spectators punching and kicking the vehicle. The man who was reversed into then appears to smash the rear windscreen after chasing the vehicle and launching a missile.

Separate video, taken at the same time, shows another fan opening the car door, before the driver pulls it shut and accelerates down Dale Street. Later footage shows the Ford Galaxy trying to drive into the crowd on the connecting Water Street.

Several people are seen striking the car as it moves past an ambulance and ploughs through the crowd, knocking over multiple people in its path. 

As the crowd evade the car, it swerves through the street, hitting more people before it eventually comes to a halt and is surrounded by fans and police.

Jack Trotter, one of the victims who was rushed to hospital, said he remains in ‘agony’ after being discharged and described it as ‘the most horrifying incident I’ve ever experienced in my life’. 

In what has been described as an ‘unprecedented’ move, Merseyside Police quickly confirmed a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area was arrested, adding that it wasn’t being treated as terrorism.

The force was criticised in the wake of the Southport murders last summer for not releasing information about the killer’s ethnicity and religion after false rumours were started online that he was a Muslim asylum seeker. 

But police in charge of planning the trophy parade were today facing serious questions over how a driver was able to access Water Street.

Ross Welsh, who had to jump out of the way of the oncoming vehicle, said cars on Water Street were able to pass further up the road, but the driver ‘navigated’ past the ‘road closed’ sign.

Mr Welsh, who had travelled to the parade from Belfast, told BBC Radio Ulster’s The Nolan Show: ‘Then there it was beeping and it screeched its tyres to brake. We had to jump to get out of the way. It wasn’t very, very close, but it was close enough that we felt we had to get out of the way quick.’

It is understood that Water Street was closed to traffic as part of a rolling road block as the parade reached the city centre.

Referring to how the driver ‘tailgated’ an ambulance down Water Street, a source told the Mail: ‘It looks as if he has panicked when he realised he was in the crowd and people began banging on his car.

Charlotte Hennessy, whose father died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, said questions need to be asked about how the driver was able to access a ‘road which should have been closed’.

The parade bus had passed along The Strand, the main road along the famous waterfront which was closed to traffic, just moments earlier. 

But Water Street, which runs off it, was packed with people walking into the city to catch trains, buses and taxis home.

Later footage seemingly showed that, by the time the car reached the end of Dale Street and entered Water Street, its back window had been smashed. The driver then appeared to plough into the crowds.

Further CCTV that emerged this afternoon shows police officers trying in vain to stop the car as it drove through the crowd. 

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this morning said the whole country ‘stands with Liverpool’, describing the incident as ‘scenes of joy turned to utter horror and devastation’.

The royals also released statements on Tuesday afternoon. The King said he was ‘deeply shocked and saddened’ by the crash during Liverpool’s Premier League title parade, adding: ‘I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.’

The Prince and Princess of Wales have said they are ‘deeply saddened’ by the Liverpool parade crash, adding: ‘What should have been a joyful celebration ended with tragedy.’

Meanwhile, Princess Anne paid a surprise visit to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital to speak to medics and first responders who treated those injured in the parade carnage.

The royal, 74, was in the city for another event and changed her plans so she could visit staff. 

A number of those wounded in the incident on Monday night were taken to the hospital, the largest in the city.

Mr Rotheram said the ‘big question’ was how the horror unfolded. ‘Water Street was not a route where vehicles were supposed to be using it, it was blocked off,’ he said.

‘At this end of it, which is the direction that it was coming in, towards The Strand, there were literally hundreds of thousands of people here, so no vehicle would have got through anyway. 

‘And the questions, I suppose, are legitimate, but we have to give the police the time to conclude their investigations, which is what they’re doing.’ 

Security expert Lee Doddridge told Sky News this morning that police had used ‘totally the wrong tactic’.

He said: ‘The immediate thought for me was how was a vehicle allowed to be among so many people?

‘I’ve got to say it is just alarming that a vehicle was allowed to be so close… a vehicle should not have been allowed anywhere near those celebrations.’

Mr Doddridge added: ‘One of the images shown last night were police snipers on rooftops as if they were covering the crowd. Totally the wrong tactic. If they had focused more on preventing vehicles getting in they could have prevented this incident. 

‘I say could have prevent it because that’s exactly what you do when you do it correctly. I do think it places a massive liability on Merseyside Police for not getting this right.’

The former counter-terrorism security adviser said police will be ‘very aware of these types of incidents’ and the ‘tactics’ used.

He explained that since 2004, police have had the power to implement an ‘anti-terrorism traffic regulation order’ (ATRO) ‘so they can make plans and actually legally close roads so no members of the public can drive through there’.

Mr Doddridge said they can also use the National Barrier Asset, which was used extensively during the Olympics.

‘The Counter Terrorism Security Adviser (CTSA) can make an application on behalf of Merseyside Police and rent the National Barrier Asset which would be deployed around those strategic areas within Liverpool to prevent vehicles coming in,’ he said.

Mr Doddridge said there should have been better ‘contingency planning’ in place – noting this isn’t the first time a trophy parade has been held after a Premier League title win. 

‘They could have been planning for this, watching throughout the season, have plans in place.

‘Once they realise it’s there’s, they can bring that ATRO in and make sure that entire area for that parade is completely safe with only access to emergency service vehicles.

‘If they had applied an ATRO the only thing they would have prevented was cars and larger vehicles getting in.’

The force’s Assistant Chief Constable Ms Sims today defended the policing of the parade, telling reporters there had been a ‘robust’ traffic plan in place for the event, including the closure of Water Street.

So-called hostile vehicle mitigation, that is planning how to protect the public against attacks using cars, is a key part of preparing for large-scale events.

Speaking at a press conference, Ms Sims said: ‘We had worked extensively with event organisers and key partner agencies in the months ahead of the potential parade, and a robust traffic management plan was in place, which included a number of local authority road closures throughout the route and the city centre.’

She added: ‘There was no intelligence to suggest an incident of this nature would take place, and as we’ve previously stated the incident is not being treated as terrorism.’ 

A total of 11 people remained in hospital for ongoing treatment and were in a stable condition after the incident, Ms Sims said on Tuesday afternoon.

And she also told reporters: ‘I want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the brave members of the emergency services who were on the scene of yesterday’s incident within a matter of seconds.

‘Following such a shocking incident, they immediately ran towards an extremely uncertain and potentially dangerous situation in an effort to protect members of the public and fellow emergency responders from harm.’

Witness Chelsea Yeun earlier said she was inches away from being struck by the car – and was shocked Water Street was not closed.

She said after the parade had finished they had all decided to come off the route on The Strand and walk up the city in an attempt to get home. Chelsea and her friend Francesca went onto Water Street, usually a one-way street, where there was a ‘sea of people’.

She assumed the council had closed the roads off to allow people to have walking access as the street was just ‘jam packed and you couldn’t move’.

‘We were walking at such a slow pace and when we were walking there wasn’t much room around anywhere,’ she told Good Morning Britain.

She didn’t see the car come plummeting towards her and only managed to jump out of the way as she heard a beeping noise and shouts coming from the crowd.

Asked if she had the impression that the street had been closed down, she said: ‘Yes, obviously it is a main city street and Water Street is a very busy street. I feel like just by the sheer amount of people that we assumed it was closed off, and it should have been closed off.

‘As we walked further up, there were railings that were scattered on the floor. I don’t know whether those railings were to have the crowds separated or to stop cars coming down.

‘It’s common sense that there should have been no cars in the immediate city area. But looking at the footage I’ve seen, after the event on Dale Street there were cars coming up and down.

‘The roads absolutely should have been cornered off just for pedestrians with such a big thing coming to the city.’

Another woman, Hannah, told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘The roads are closed, how did a car get down there anyway? You see people lying on the floor, all I can remember is just the police going ‘everyone go now, now, leave’, they ushered us all off and they were screaming.’

She said she could hear shouting and then saw people lying on the floor, adding: ‘It was just too many people, you couldn’t actually see what had happened.

‘All you could hear was like shouting, shouting, and I just knew something had happened.

The parade was due to leave Allerton Road to travel along Queens Drive at 230pm. The route was along Queens Drive, Mill Bank, West Derby Road, Rocky Lane, West Derby Road, Low Hill, Islington, Hunter Street, Byrom Street, Leeds Street, The Strand and was due to finish at Wapping at 6pm. 

Police had warned ahead of the parade that there would be a ‘rolling road closure’. 

But they said fixed closures would be in place on The Strand (northbound at 7am, southbound at 12pm), Queens Drive, between The Rocket and Prescot Road (12pm), Queens Drive at Allerton Road (12pm), Mill Bank (1pm) and West Derby Road, between Sheil Road and Everton Road (1pm).

There was no mention of Water Street being closed.

Ahead of the parade, Merseyside Police said: ‘Road closures will be in place to allow the parade to take place safely and the public is advised to either view the parade as close to home as possible, walk or take advantage of public transport. 

‘Supporters are also being advised to line the whole route to avoid crowding in busy areas.’

Chief Inspector Chris Barnes, silver commander for the parade, had said there would be a ‘large number of police officers on the streets along the whole parade route who will be providing a reassuring presence and making sure fans can enjoy the parade safely.’

He said road closures would be put in place by Liverpool City Council. Water Street was not mentioned as a street that would be closed on the council’s website.

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.

In 2016, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel used a lorry to plough through a crowd in Nice during Bastille Day celebrations on July 14. 86 people were killed and more than 400 injured before the 31-year-old Tunisian was shot dead by police.

The following year, vehicles were used in two attacks by terrorists in central London.

On March 22 2017, Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old Brit, killed four people and injured more than 50 when he drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and Bridge Street. He was also shot dead by an armed police officer.

Then just months later, eight people were killed and 48 injured when a van rammed into pedestrians on London Bridge. The three men in the van, Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were all shot dead.

In two further incidents, 10 people were killed by a van driver in Toronto, Canada, in 2018, while in June 2022, a 59-year-old woman was left with life-changing injuries after driver Luke Geard ploughed into her in Axminster, Devon. 

In Liverpool, 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.

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. 

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?’

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.’ 

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.’

One victim, Jack Trotter, told the BBC from his hospital bed that he was in ‘absolute agony’ after he was struck by the car.

Mr Trotter, from Newtownards, County Down, had come to the parade from Northern Ireland with his girlfriend, Abbie Gallagher, who narrowly avoided being struck as well.

After being discharged from hospital today, he wrote on Instagram: ‘Only back from hospital after the most horrifying incident I’ve ever experienced in my life… genuinely seriously lucky to still be here after this as I just moved out of the way in time.’