NI politician caught up in Liverpool victory parade terror believes ‘lucky' decision saved her

Belfast Telegraph

2 days ago

Sharon Lowry, an Alliance councillor, was speaking in the aftermath of the celebration that turned into scenes of 'chaos and panic' on Monday.
She recalled the emotive day as Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council unanimously agreed to send a letter of support to Liverpool FC and the city's Mayor. It followed a proposal by DUP Alderman Paul Porter.
Ms Lowry said: 'I just feel so blessed. We had just been on Water Street about five minutes before the horrific incident, but we decided to walk to another area, as it was just too busy.
'I was over with my husband. We have been Liverpool fans for many years having been childhood sweethearts together and we wanted to be part of a fantastic day of celebrations, which it was until that car came crashing through the crowd of supporters.
'As you can imagine it had been an amazing day. The city was just red. Everybody was just so cheerful. It took quite a long time for the parade to get where we were, then everything went into a panic.'
It is estimated up to a million people took to the streets of Liverpool to celebrate the team taking the Premiership League title.
Over 65 people are reported to have been injured as a vehicle hit the crowds on Water Street at approximately 6pm on Monday, with 27 – including two children – taken for hospital treatment. Four people remain in hospital.
A 53-year-old man from West Derby, Merseyside, has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving under the influence of drugs. He remains in custody.
Ms Lowry added: 'We had actually been on Water Street just after the parade passed, which was about 5.50pm.
'We had decided to walk up from The Strand to Water Street, but it just looked too busy and we were standing there for about five minutes, then we decided to just take another route, so went back on to The Strand.
'Then literally five minutes after we made that decision, the car came through into the crowd.
'The news just started to come through as we were walking on towards Lime Street train station on our way to get the Liverpool boat back home. You could hear the sirens going off.
'I had actually gone into a bar to use the bathroom and when I came out there was a girl in absolute floods of tears. I was like, oh my goodness are you ok? She said, 'did you not hear what just happened?''
She added: "People on the streets were just getting bits and pieces of information and thinking after seeing the video that the people knocked down and stuck under the car must not have survived.
'I'm not going to lie, I was actually full of panic myself, we just didn't know if this was an attack or an accident and if it was the end of it or if there was more to come.
'Word was spreading right through the crowds. Some random guy showed me the video of the incident and it was just horrific scenes of bodies flying in the air, just awful.
'We were all being herded in one direction away from Water Street so I can only imagine that on the other side of the crowd at Water Street, it was just pure chaos and panic.'
Watch: Liverpool flags erected in Carrickfergus
The eyewitness accounts of Northern Ireland couple Jack Trotter and his girlfriend Abbie Gallagher have been on several TV stations.
The Co Down man, who pleaded for the driver to stop, is a family friend of the councillor.
Ms Lowry added: 'We just couldn't believe it, the mood in the city just dramatically changed, very subdued panic in the air. All the train stations were suddenly shut down, people couldn't get out, they were panicking.
'People were on their phones, but the signal wasn't great, because obviously hundreds of thousands of people were trying to get on their phones.
'My phone was pinging non-stop with messages from my family and friends back home to check if we were ok as they knew we were right there. We were very lucky.
'They were especially checking for my nephew back home who was very concerned as he is actually a good friend of the young fella who was interviewed (Jack Trotter)
'It was a really sad end to what had been a fantastic celebration, I just hope that everyone is ok especially those who remain in hospital and I wish them a speedy recovery.'