Liverpool fans attending the club’s Premier League trophy parade have spoken of the horror that unfolded after a car ploughed into a large crowd of supporters.
On a day that was supposed to be a celebration among Liverpool supporters after their club sealed a historic 20th league title, fans were left in ‘shock’ by the ‘horrific’ incident.
It happened just after 6pm on Water Street in the heart of Liverpool’s city centre, as thousands of fans packed the streets to celebrate their team’s triumphant season.
Emergency services rushed to the scene within minutes, with dramatic images showing police cordons, litter strewn across the road, and a strong presence of officers, ambulances and even a fire engine.
Police have confirmed that a man detained is a ’53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area’.
The Prime Minister described ‘appalling’ scenes as witnesses have told of the terrifying moment the car was ‘beeping’ as it made its way through the crowds.
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 five minutes of the parade finishing. It was horrific.
‘The car just swerved into the crowd at speed and everyone was screaming.
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
Police immediately swarmed to attendance and cordoned off the area on Water Street
A car collided with a crowd of Liverpool fans at their Premier League trophy parade on Monday
‘We now know our families are okay but at the time, I had no idea if my brothers or sisters were under the car. My Nan’s 84 so we were all fearing the worst.’
Frankie, 24, 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.’
Multiple people were reportedly injured, with four people being seen taken away on stretchers, while another man was pictured leaning heavily on a police officer for support.
The terrifying scenes unfolded just hours after Liverpool FC’s trophy parade got underway at 2pm, with stars including Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah leading celebrations atop the open-top bus.
Sonny Singh, 40, who was there with his two son, aged nine and 13, told the Guardian he saw an injured teenager and dozens of people run past him ‘crying and angry’.
He said: ‘People were running, screaming, I saw a boy, probably about 15, holding his leg and bleeding.
‘There were loads of people there,’ he told the Guardian, adding that he had heard the vehicle hit dozens of fans.
Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters when he witnessed the collision. ‘
He said: ‘It happened about 10 feet away from us. We were just in a crowd and we had no control over where we would be, because it was a very narrow street.
‘The vehicle came to our right. It emerged from just right next to an ambulance, which was parked up. This grey people carrier just pulled up from the right and just rammed into all the people at the side of us.
‘It was travelling south, down Water Street, straight towards this strand, which is where the docks are.
‘It was extremely fast. Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.
Mr Rashid described how crowds began trying to smash the car windows: ‘Then he stalled for a few seconds, probably about 10 seconds. Then the crowd that was a bit further back started rushing at him trying to smash his windows.
‘But then he put his foot down again and just ploughed through the rest of them, he just kept going.
‘It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.
Hundreds of police officers rushed to the scene amid panic and distress from supporters
An emergency service presence is pictured as members of the public react on Water Street
Images on social media showed distressed fans and police at the scene in Liverpool
‘Then my daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground.
‘They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade. There were hundreds and thousands of us there because this is probably the busiest part of Liverpool.’
‘We were shocked, couldn’t believe it.’
Emergency services arrived at the scene ‘within seconds’, he said.
Mr Rashid said: ‘Ambulances were already there. There was one right next to where this occurred, so there was a paramedic inside there.
‘But then they started arriving within seconds, they’re all trying to get to the crowd and negotiate the crowd, which is very difficult to do, you see, because there’s that many people, they constantly been trying to move.
‘I just wanted my kids to get off the road regardless because I couldn’t trust whether there’s a follow up attack or something like that. Because you are just exposed there on the pavement.
‘I saw people lying on the ground, people unconscious. It was horrendous. So horrendous.’
Chelsea Yuen witnessed the incident and told Sky News: ‘It was jam packed we were like sardines and then we heard beeping and screaming. When we looked up there was a black people carrier driving straight towards us.
‘Me and my friend jumped out the way and pulled our kid out the way.
‘It must have been going 30mph. The windows were all smashed in by people hitting the car.
‘Police riot vans on the scene. People banging on them telling police they need to do something and help. Stewards said backup was coming and all of a sudden police and ambulance come from everywhere.
‘There were kids everywhere. It was a family celebration, it’s just quite shocking what’s happened.
‘It was so packed you couldn’t get through. There was one riot van way the top and as we carried on walking further towards the train station there were more riot vans and ambulances coming from every road. But because it was so packed they couldn’t get through.
‘We’re really shaken up. My friend’s daughter was crying as we got closer to people lying on the floor at the top of the street. We just had to keep walking and get out of the area. We didn’t know what else was coming.
‘Everyone was walking up Water Street because they’d opened up the barriers from the Strand. People were heading to train stations and trying to get home.’
A ’53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area’ was swiftly detained by police
Authorities say both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper are being kept fully briefed on the developing situation
Matt Cole, a BBC reporter who attended the parade with his family, witnessed the incident.
He told BBC News: ‘I was there with my family. We had just moments before watched fireworks going off and celebrations, the Liverpool bus passing us on the Strand.
‘There were screams ahead of us and suddenly this dark blue car just came through the crowd.
‘It just wasn’t stopping. 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. We then turned and watched what happened momentarily behind us before running.
‘It was being chased by a group of men who were trying to bang on the side of it and throw things at it.
‘The back of the rear windshield had been completely smashed in, but it just had no intention of stopping.
‘At that point, we and others dived into a side street and then once I was sure my family were safe, I looked back to see people sitting on the ground surrounded by people.
A video later emerged online showing the distressing moment the car went through the crowd
Pictured: The man who was driving the car in Liverpool
‘Police came running from all over, ambulances, police vans, as we moved away through those crowds.
‘An entire squad of armed police cars stopped, and people jumped out with rifles and again big medical packs on and began running to the scene of the incident.’
A witness, who was walking with a group of friends, said he saw a car ‘speeding up’ and hit pedestrians.
The man, who gave his name as Maddra, said the’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’.
Daniel Jones, 28, was only a few feet away when the vehicle ploughed through the crowd.
He told The Sun: ‘Luckily my wife had just gone up to the hotel with my three-year-old son.
‘I dread to think what would have happened if they hadn’t done that. I was horrified. I was scared.
‘There were paramedics on their hands and knees treating wounded people. It was a horrifying scene.’
Witness Natasha Rinaldi, who was watching the parade from her friend’s living room, told Sky News: ‘It was so loud. People sounded desperate.
‘And then we looked out the window and we saw the car (had) run over people.
‘Then people started rushing to go after the driver and they tried to break the car. The police did everything to block and to push people away.
‘We could just hear screams and screams. We were very confused.
‘Some of my friends were down there and the car was so near them. It was a horrible scene, nobody was expecting it.’
She said: ‘people had stopped the car’ and were knocking on the window ‘and trying to speak to the driver’.
‘People were very angry and shocked, and then the police intervened. And then we heard the ambulances coming.’
Peter Jones, 44, from the Isle of Man, attended the parade and described the incident as ‘shocking’.
He said: ‘We were walking up Water Street, thousands around us.
‘We heard a frantic beeping ahead, a car flew past me and my mate, people were chasing it and trying to stop him, windows smashed at the back.
‘He then drove into people, police and medics ran past us, and people were being treated on the side of the road.
‘There were a lot injured. We heard it behind us hit the crowds, then we saw half a dozen people [injured] in the road as we were walking up.’
‘It was shocking. We’re back at our hotel now, in a bit of a shock.’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being updated on the situation and thanked police for their quick response.
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.
‘I’m being kept updated on developments and ask that we give the police the space they need to investigate.’
Liverpool Football Club said it was in contact with the force and would ‘continue to offer our full support to the emergency services and local authorities who are dealing with this incident.’
Police attend to an injured person at the scene
Police assist at the scene on Water Street
A statement from the club reads: ‘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.
‘We will continue to offer our full support to the emergency services and local authorities who are dealing with this incident.’
In a post on social media, Everton football club said: ‘Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected by this serious incident in our city.’
In a statement released shortly after the incident, police confirmed: ‘We are currently dealing with reports of a road traffic collision in Liverpool city centre.
‘We were contacted at just after 6pm today, Monday 26 May, following reports a car had been in a collision with a number of pedestrians on Water Street.
‘The car stopped at the scene and a male has been detained. Emergency services are currently on the scene. We will issue more updates as we have them’.
A Liverpool city council spokesperson said: ‘We are currently liaising with Merseyside Police regarding an incident on Water Street in the city centre. Updates to follow.’
A statement from North West Ambulance read: ‘NWAS is supporting an incident in Liverpool city centre, following reports of a road traffic collision.
‘We are currently assessing the situation and working with other members of the emergency services. Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible’.
The incident marred a day which was intended for celebration among Liverpool supporters after their club sealed a historic 20th league title.
The parade followed a 10-mile route. It started at Allerton Maze, heading north along Queens Drive in a similar route to the one used in 2019 – when the Reds won their last league title.
Mohamed Salah waved to supporters who cheered him and his team-mates earlier in the day
Liverpool fans lined the streets in their thousands to celebrate the club’s Premier League title
There were a number of road closures due to the event, with Liverpool City Council strongly recommending that people did not drive.
Liverpool’s bus for the parade was lined with the word ‘champions’, with an image of the Premier League trophy and the word’s ‘ours again’ also included.
Flares are understood not to have been allowed on an number of trains around the city, but that didn’t stop fans letting them off as the parade passed.
Reds owner John W Henry wrapped up as he took his spot on the bus, potentially questioning the British weather.
Players took it in turns to lift up the trophy – some held up by others atop the bus. The rain continued to fall, fans continued to wave their flags.
Some were situated behind barriers and had signs as a means of passing on their congratulations to the players.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow
