Welsh dad describes moment 'car came out of nowhere' during Liverpool parade

Wales Online

28-05-2025

Welsh dad describes moment 'car came out of nowhere' during Liverpool parade
Chris Lewis, from Mountain Ash, said the car which drove into supporters during the Liverpool parade 'would not stop'
Dozens were injured after a car drove into crowds on Water Street in Liverpool shortly after the Premier League winners parade
(Image: PA )
A Welsh man who was celebrating Liverpool FC's Premier League title win in the city has described the moment a car which would go on to plough into supporters "came out of nowhere" and was driving on streets that were meant to be closed. Over 50 people were injured after a car appeared drove into fans on Water Street as the trophy parade had began to wind down.
A 53-year-old man from West Derby remains in custody after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving offences and driving whilst unfit through drugs.
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Chris Lewis, from Mountain Ash, was in Liverpool for the parade and to celebrate both his and his youngest son's birthday and was narrowly missed by the car.
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He was watching the parade from The Strand with his family and as the event came to an end, they started to make their way through the city centre to find a pub. "It was a pretty amazing atmosphere, so we wanted to continue the celebrations," Chris told BBC Radio Wales.
However, he ended up amongst the crowds on Water Street when he saw a car "come from nowhere." For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
He said: "We thought 'This road should be closed - what is this car doing here?' It was pretty strange and it just kept moving.
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"All of the sudden I had to shout to my son to move from the road because it was just carrying on driving. He wouldn't stop and so my son jumped out of the way.
"Everybody else was there shouting at this car, 'What are you doing? Stop'. They were banging on the car and regardless of that, he just carried on down the street."
Chris said the car was "accelerating and breaking", adding, "it was pretty unbelievable."
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Narrowly missing the car, Chris and his family did not realise until much later what had actually happened further down Water Street.
He explained: "Neither myself, nor my sons, friends could get contact with anybody. Maybe an hour or two later my wife managed to get through and speak to me and she was pretty frantic at that point because obviously she was back home hearing what had happened. She really was worried and scared for what may have happened.
"It was at that point then she told us what was on the news, that we realised what had happened further on down the road. It was pretty scary - we were very lucky to be honest."
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Chris added that he felt "heartbroken for those that were caught up in it."
On Tuesday afternoon, Police confirmed that they believe the Ford Galaxy car was able to drive into Water Street after the road block was lifted to enable an ambulance to reach someone who was having a suspected heart attack. 11 people remain in hospital but all are in a stable condition.