Liverpool police give major update on horror parade car crash

Daily Mirror

27-05-2025

The car that ploughed into fans at Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade may have been tailgating an ambulance into a packed central city street, as chilling CCTV shows the driver squeezing through crowds in the moments before chaos broke out.
Nearly 50 people - including four children - were injured when the vehicle drove through a packed crowd of celebrating football supporters last night.
North West Ambulance Service confirmed two people have been seriously injured, including one child. Merseyside Police are not treating the horror as an act of terrorism. A 53-year-old man from the Liverpool area has been arrested in relation to the incident.
Medical staff who treated those injured when a car drove into crowds at the Liverpool victory parade have told the Princess Royal they were 'very, very fortunate' there were not more major injuries.
Anne visited the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Tuesday where she met nurses, consultants and paramedics, as well as representatives from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the football club, after 47 people were injured on Water Street on Monday.
Divisional medical director for surgery at Aintree University Hospital Marc Lucky told the princess they had put out an alert for staff to come in. He said: 'It's a very good example of the resilience and people volunteering. We had too many people, which is a very interesting complaint to have.'
He told the royal the injuries were not 'major traumas'. He said: 'We were very, very fortunate yesterday, I must say.'Consultant Jay Rathore said: 'Most of the injuries were limb injuries. No life-threatening, we were able to manage them.'
A young woman captured the moment the driver of the car allegedly involved in the Liverpool crash carnage was led away surrounded by police.
Mobile phone footage shows the man being bundled away by a ring of steel keeping the crowds back. Charlie Connolly, still clearly "traumatised" by what she saw, fought back tears as she spoke to The Mirror. The 23-year-old told how she only filmed from her flat above Water Street to show her boyfriend how huge the crowds were so that he didn't try and get home, fearing for his safety.
The King and Queen have issued a formal statement expressing their shock at the events in Liverpool on Monday.
He said he and Queen Camilla were "deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the terrible events" while paying tribute to first responders.
A message from The King following the terrible incident in Liverpool on Monday evening. pic.twitter.com/LiOI86LLbs
A famed Indian street food restaurant was used as a triage centre for injured people following the incident as staff got "all hands on deck" in the chaos.
Mowgli is a local favourite restaurant for many Liverpudlians, occupying a special place in the city centre. Now, it is even more notable after staff jumped to action in the wake of the disaster on Monday. One emergency crew member told Sky News that local staff "went above and beyond to help us" as they tried to treat people, adding: "We couldn't have asked for more from them."
They added: "I was tasked to deal with the staff directly to sort the triage centre out, and they were an absolute credit to Mowgli leadership. They assisted the injured people, provided aid to emergency services and were on hand all night to assist where they could. Heroes."
Joe Hosford, who has been a Liverpool FC fan all of his life, had travelled from his home in Cork, Ireland, to visit his family and to watch the parade.
He says he wanted yesterday to be remembered as the day that Liverpool celebrated winning the Premier League, but instead it will be remembered by this "tragedy."
Joe, 36, said: "It's really devastating because you want to always remember today as when Liverpool won the Premier League and the celebrations.
"Then this tragedy has happened.
"It's always going to be in people's minds."
David Wilkinson, 61, was walking along Water Street in the city alongside his wife Breda, 62, when he saw the car heading towards him.
He says the vehicle brushed his arm before he jumped out of the road - moments before it hit unsuspecting fans.
David said: "We had just made it to the top of the street and we could hear this car coming - it was beeping its horn.
"It headed for me and brushed my arm as it went past - I jumped out of the road just in time.
"We continued walking up the street and saw people sitting on the floor we thought the car must have hit those people before heading for us.
"We didn't realise the main incident was so close behind us.
"It was only until watching the news later on were we found out the full scale of what happened."
In new comments this afternoon, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard wrote on Instagram: "Shocked, sickened and saddened at the incident we all witnessed in our city last night"
"My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people involved and their families."
Downing Street has said that police are "operationally independent" when it comes to information they choose to release after the incident in Liverpool.
Merseyside Police confirmed they had arrested a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area around two hours after the incident on Monday that left dozens of people, including four children, hurt.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "It is always up to the police operationally to decide what information goes into the public domain and when, and it's right that the police obviously are operationally independent when it comes to those decisions."
Asked if Keir Starmer was pleased that the information had been released, the spokesman said: "The PM always supports the police operating independently and they've obviously operated independently on this."As the PM said this morning it is a matter for the police and today we're focused on thinking about all those who have been impacted by this incident."
Liverpool fan Paul O'Brien, from Ireland, attended last night's victory parade with his 11-year-old son and elderly parents - but the family were nearly hit by a car that barrelled through the crowds.
'Liverpool parade car nearly hit my family - heroes pulled us out of harm's way'
Liverpool FC captain Virgil van Dijk said he was "praying for a speedy recovery" for all those injured in the crash following the club's title parade.The Dutch defender posted on Instagram: "My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected. Praying for a speedy recovery for everyone who suffered injuries."We are all with you."
The CCTV from a mobile phone shop shows the Ford people carrier trying to squeeze through crowds on Dale Street at 5.58pm, two minutes before the first emergency calls were made.
One person who witnessed the horrific aftermath of the incident was Dumisani Moyo, who had travelled up from London to watch the parade and was staying with friends and family at an Air BnB in Water Street, just yards from where the grim scenes unfolded.
"We got back here just after it had happened. We weren't able to go back into our accommodation," he said.
"It was mayhem, it had just happened.
"It was really horrific stuff. The car was still there, we could see it. People were lying hurt on the floor.
"It had been a beautiful day, the people of Liverpool are great, we had a wonderful time and then that happened.
"We couldn't get into our accommodation until about 11pm. But we are ok, we are safe and we pray for the people who got hurt. We wish them the best."
Because no charges have been made regarding last night's incident in Liverpool, the police are not disclosing the arrested man's name, which is standard practice in the UK.
The press are also prohibited from identifying him.
In a significant ruling in 2022, the Supreme Court determined that an individual under criminal investigation has a reasonable expectation of privacy and should not be named until charges are filed.
When someone is charged, the police typically release their name, street address, and age, as these details form part of their legal identity and prevent individuals with the same name from being mistakenly identified as the suspect.
Merseyside Police are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the circumstances leading up to the incident, with questions being asked about how the car was able to access a key city centre road that had been closed to traffic because of the parade.
One line of enquiry is that the car was following or attempting to follow an ambulance that was moving through the crowd, reports the Liverpool Echo.
This may have have led to some of the gathered crowd attempting to stop the vehicle before it then lurched forward and ploughed into the crowds, injuring many people.
Eyewitnesses have recounted the horror they saw as a car crashed into fans celebrating Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade.
Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters when he witnessed the collision. "It happened about 10 feet away from us … 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 the 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."
Members of the public who may have information pertinent to the incident on Monday have been asked not to speculate about the incident or share information online.
Liam Robinson, the Leader of Liverpool City Council, said people should go directly to local police. He said: "Any information that you do have, don't share it on social media, share it directly with Merseyside Police."
The Muslim Council of Britain, the representative body for British Muslims, has marshalled its Liverpudlian chapter to offer "support and assistance" to authorities in Liverpool following the car smash.
The council said in a statement: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this senseless attack. We've spoken to the Liverpool Muslim Council (representing many of the Mosques in the city) and they've offered their support and assistance to the authorities at this difficult time.
"As the police have said, please avoid sharing unverified information."
Forensics officers have been spotted behind the police cordon in Liverpool city centre this morning.
A large section of the road near the Liver Building remains closed today as police continue their enquiries.
The Prime Minister has said the "thoughts of the whole country will be with Liverpool" this morning after last night's incident at the parade, which left nearly 50 people injured.
Here's Keir Starmer's comments in full:
Liverpool stands together, and the whole country stands with Liverpool. pic.twitter.com/1JMIr2U5Zc
Witness Harry Rashid says he feared for his life when he saw the car mow down dozens of Liverpool supporters in the city centre on Monday - and recalled an 'agitated' look on the driver's face.
Speaking about the driver, Harry told BBC Radio 5 Live: "He looked kind of emotional, agitated, I don't know why. His hands were moving about.
"He was trying to close the door of the car, I think, because they've tried to pull the door open and then he was trying to close it."
A hero landlord locked 80 people inside his Liverpool pub to protect them from a car that rammed into a huge crowd of revellers in the city centre last night.
Bobby Dix, 47, landlord of the Pig and Whistle, managed to get members of the public to safety as they celebrated Liverpool FC's trophy parade.
"There was a couple who were only not hit because they were knocked out of the way by the other people who were hit.
"I tried to calm everyone down by saying there had been a major incident and they are safe and locked in," he told the Mirror.
Liverpool Football Club CEO Billy Hogan has urged people to come forward if they have any information after an incident towards the end of the Reds' open top bus parade.
Paying tribute to the emergency services, he said: "On behalf of all of us here at Liverpool Football Club, I would like to extend our heartfelt thoughts to all those who've been affected by this appalling incident on Water Street yesterday evening."This weekend was one of celebration, emotion and joy spread across the city in our entire fan base, and it ended in unimaginable scenes of distress with this appalling incident."I'd like to pay tribute to our emergency services and partner agencies - Merseyside Police, North West and St John Ambulance Services, and Merseyside Fire and Rescue - who dealt with the incident, and now our hospital staff across the city who are dealing with those who are injured, including tragically four children."I would also like to thank our supporters who witnessed this event and helped each other where they could."We continue to work with the emergency services and the local authorities to support their ongoing investigation."And once again we would ask if anyone has any further information about the incident, please contact Merseyside Police."Thank you."
A Liverpool fan who flew to attend the parade from Mauritius told Mirror Online he missed frantic calls from worried friends from home as they tried to check he had survived the horror incident.Rowin Arnachellum, 30, was just two minutes away from the crash but was unaware of the incident.He had no coverage on his phone until he walked away and it started pinging from pals on the Indian Ocean island.'Everyone back home was asking if I was ok,' said the hardware shop owner.'But I couldn't pick up messages or answer calls for a while.'It was such a sad end to such an amazing day.'It was only Rowin's second trip to Liverpool.'I managed to get a ticket for the match on Sunday and then the parade was incredible,' he said.'It was a tragic way to end the parade.
'My prayers are with those who were injured.
'I hope they make a full recovery.'
Rowin was at Lime St station waiting for a train back to London for his flight back to Mauritius - an island in the Indian Ocean off east Africa.
Debris lies strewn across Liverpool city centre this morning in the aftermath of a shocking incident that saw a car plough into a packed crowd of football fans, injuring 47 people.
Water Street remains a crime scene today, with police scouring the area for evidence to help piece together how a vehicle managed to race through a closed-off street during Liverpool FC's trophy parade on Monday evening.
Keir Starmer has said the whole country "stands with Liverpool" after a car ploughed into crowds in the city yesterday evening.
The Prime Minister said "scenes of joy turned to utter horror and devastation" during Liverpool's Premier League victory parade.
Four children were among about 50 people injured during the celebrations on Monday.
Up to one million Liverpool fans had lined the streets to celebrate the team as they moved through the city centre with the Premier League trophy on an open-top bus.
Merseyside Police are not treating the incident as terrorism after a 53-year-old man was arrested.
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Starmer said the nation's thoughts are with the victims and the wider community. He said: "Scenes of joy turned to utter horror and devastation, and my thoughts and the thoughts of the whole country are with all of those that are affected, those injured, which of course includes children, their families, their friends, the whole community, Liverpool fans everywhere.
A devastated Jurgen Klopp has sent well wishes to those affected by the shocking incident that marred Liverpool's title parade on Bank Holiday Monday.
Klopp, who was back on Merseyside to attend his former club's official coronation, has now spoken about the appalling incident on his official social media channels.
He said via Instagram: "My family and I are shocked and devastated.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are injured and affected. You'll never walk alone."
This morning, Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said there were questions over how the car ended up in the street during the parade last night.He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The question, let's be honest, that everybody's sort of, it's in the forefront of their minds is why did a car end up in Water Street and that's for the police now to conclude their investigations, we'll find out the reason why it was there."Asked about casualties, he said: "Yesterday I was with the police and obviously they've reported on a number of serious injuries, one, at least, critical.
"We'll have to wait until the update later today from that, but signs were fairly positive, and I think the fortunate thing is the ambulance service themselves were on scene.
"There was an ambulance yards away and there were lots of police and as the event is happening the police are running towards this event."
Back in Liverpool city centre, a children's toy can be seen abandoned close to the location where the car hit crowds of people last night.
Near the start of the police cordon are several gravel car parks - behind a number of historic pubs and opposite Moorfields multi storey car parl, but it's not yet known where the suspect's car was parked.
Stephen Hoy, the boss of Liverpool's oldest pub Ye Hole in Ye Wall, said: 'It's sad because, as usual, it's a stigma that's going to attach to us for a long time. I felt sick.
"I've got five sons and my grandson who were down there and I started to panic, their phones were dead."
The incident started just yards from his business near a mobile phone shop.
It's a quiet, sombre scene outside Liverpool's famous Anfield ground this morning after last night's incident at the parade.
In a statement last night, the club said: "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."