Liverpool
parade collision: what we know so far
A man has
been arrested after a car ploughed into the crowd at Liverpool FC’s Premier
League victory parade
Caroline
Davies
Tue 27 May
2025 08.49 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/may/27/liverpool-parade-collision-what-we-know-so-far
The city of
Liverpool is in shock after a car ploughed into the crowd at Liverpool FC’s
Premier League title victory parade. Twenty-seven people were taken to hospital
and 20 others were treated at the scene. Four children were among the injured.
At least four people, including one of the children, are said to have sustained
serious injuries.
Merseyside
police said a 53-year-old white male from the Liverpool area was arrested at
the scene. At a late-night press conference, the force’s assistant chief
constable Jenny Sims said the “horrific incident” was not being treated as
terrorism.
How the
incident unfolded
More than
500,000 people had lined the streets to watch Liverpool players and staff on an
open-top bus with the Premier League trophy travel a 10-mile route over
three-and-a-half hours. The victory parade began at Allerton Maze, south of the
city, and ended with a finale on the Strand.
Just after
6pm BST on Water Street, about a mile from the end of the parade and after the
team had recently passed, a vehicle collided with members of the crowd,
according to witnesses.
Footage of
the incident circulating online appears to show the vehicle speed up as it
veers into pedestrians on both sides of the street, with people knocked to the
floor off the windshield, falling to the ground and darting out of the way to
avoid harm.
What
witnesses have said
Matthew
O’Carroll, 28, from Runcorn, said he saw the car approaching the top of Water
Street. It went past a parked police van at a “decent” speed, he said, and the
driver was beeping as he went through the crowd.
Mike Maddra
said the car “turned left, mounted [the] pavement, come towards us and runs
towards the buildings”. He said: “We got out the way and it was speeding up.”
The incident
lasted 20-30 seconds, and the first victim was thrown “about 20ft” in the air,
witnesses told the Guardian.
Harry
Rashid, 48, from Solihull, said he could “hear the bumps” as the car hit
spectators. He described how crowds began trying to smash the car’s windows,
causing the driver to stall for about 10 seconds, before the vehicle
accelerated, hitting more people.
Dan
Ogunshakin, an off-duty BBC reporter attending the parade, said he saw people
hitting the car before it reversed and then “it suddenly accelerated forwards”,
straight towards the surrounding crowd.
The
emergency service response
Social media
video showed angry fans converging on the vehicle as it came to a stop,
smashing windows before police intervened. Matt Cole, a BBC reporter, described
how police officers exited a “squad” of armed police vehicles carrying rifles
and medical packs and began running to the scene.
Daniel
Jones, 28, told the Sun newspaper that police restrained people who were
“smashing” the car. “They were ripping the register plate off,” he said. “The
back window was broken when the [driver] was still in it.”
Police said
the car stopped at the scene and a suspect was detained.
What we know
of those injured
Twenty-seven
people were taken to hospital and a further 20 were treated at the scene,
emergency services said. Others self-presented at hospitals on Merseyside.
Three adults
and one child were removed by firefighters from beneath the vehicle and passed
to the ambulance, Nick Searle, Merseyside’s chief fire officer, told a news
conference.
The
Liverpool city mayor, Steve Rotheram, said on Tuesday that four people remained
“very, very ill in hospital” after the incident.
The local
Italian restaurant Riva was used as a makeshift triage centre, according to
Paddy Edrich, a Liverpool Echo reporter. “People inside Riva are being treated
by paramedics. Some have bandages around their heads and limbs,” he said in a
post on X. “Staff in the restaurant appear to be providing fluids to those
being treated and the emergency services.”
The wider
reaction
Liverpool FC
said in a statement that it was in “direct contact with Merseyside police
regarding the incident on Water Street which happened towards the end of the
trophy parade”. A post on X read: “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.”
Well-wishes
flowed from other Premier League clubs including Everton, Manchester United and
Manchester City.
Keir Starmer
said: “The scenes in Liverpool are appalling – my thoughts are with all those
injured or affected.” He later added: “Tonight I have spoken to Steve Rotheram
about the terrible events in Liverpool and the remarkable bravery shown by the
police and other emergency services. They are supporting and caring for those
injured in these terrible events.”
Ian Byrne,
the MP for Liverpool West Derby, wrote on X: “Absolutely heartbroken by the
scenes in town, after what should have been the best of days. My love and
thoughts are with all affected.”
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