Liverpool crash victim ‘pleaded with driver to stop' before car smashed into him
A Liverpool fan run down at the club's victory parade has described how he 'locked eyes' with the driver and 'pleaded for him to stop' moments before the car ploughed into him.
Jack Trotter, 22, from Down, was enjoying celebrating his team's success when he found himself 'face to face' with the Ford Galaxy on Water Street in the city centre on Monday.
The stricken Northern Irishman was helped by fellow fans and locals into a nearby pub until emergency services arrived to take him to hospital.
Photos of the father-of-one being carried by two firemen while wearing a Liverpool scarf were on the front pages of several national papers on Tuesday.
More than 50 people, including children, were treated in different hospitals (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Mr Trotter, from Newtownards, escaped without serious injury and has been discharged from hospital, but fears he could be left with walking problems for weeks.
He had made the trip to Liverpool with his girlfriend, Abbie Gallagher, 22, who screamed out in terror when she saw the car coming towards him.
'Abbie was a few feet ahead of me, and I was just taking videos singing with Liverpool fans I'd never even met before,' Mr Trotter said.
'Then I just heard her screaming my name, I put my phone down and by then I was face to face with the car.
'He had slowed down. And then I put my hands up and pleaded for him to stop, and he wasn't stopping.
'Then he clipped me.'
Mr Trotter said the incident was 'very quick'.
'I did lock eyes with him,' he continued.
'People were hitting his car, shouting at him.
'Everything was very dark. Everything was very blurry.
'He had ran through me by the time I could get a good look at him.
'When the car had hit me, the adrenaline kicked in, and I didn't really, obviously feel anything.
'And then once I found my partner, the adrenaline wore off, and then I just collapsed on the wall and said 'Abbie, that's me, I'm gone'.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper during a visit to the scene (Peter Byrne/PA)
Mr Trotter said bystanders helped him away from the scene before firemen took him to an ambulance.
The moment was captured by nearby photographers.
'We were approached by a few Liverpool men, and then by a bouncer of a pub,' he said.
'She had brought us in, cleared everyone, even though the pub was still full, got a seat for me and and then she went and got the emergency services.'
Asked about his injuries, he said: 'My legs aren't broken, which is good. It's just my left leg where it was hit is just a good bit tender.
'My back's got slipped disks.
'I just recovered from a back injury… It's just brought it back, but 10 times worse.'
Mr Trotter and his girlfriend are due to fly home on Wednesday, but he said he was unsure how if he would be able to travel in his condition.
'We're going to have to get on with easyJet, to find a way for me to access the plane.
'I'm not going to be able to walk up steps anytime soon.'
Describing his memories of the 'traumatic' incident, he said: 'It's going to impact me for a lot of reasons.
'I'm just thinking, was it actually even real? Was it, you know, a dream?
'We are still here. However, the worst could have happened.'
More than 50 people, including children, were treated in different hospitals and 11 people remained there in a stable condition, police said in an update on Tuesday.
The 53-year-old driver has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
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Liverpool parade driver arrested over attempted murder and drug driving
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