What we know so far about car's movements moments before Liverpool parade crash
Police believe the car that hit pedestrians during Liverpool's Premier League victory parade last night followed an ambulance after a road block was temporarily lifted
The driver who allegedly crashed into a crowd at Liverpool's victory parade on Monday evening is believed to have followed an ambulance responding to an emergency, police said.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Merseyside Police said they believe the suspect, driving a Ford Galaxy car, got access to Water Street in the city centre after the road block was temporarily lifted to allow an ambulance to reach a member of the public who was having a suspected heart attack. The force insisted that alongside event organisers, it had prepared for "all contingencies" and had implemented "road closures to protect pedestrians" ahead of the parade.
Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said there was "no intelligence" to suggest such an incident would take place, while stressing the crash is not being treated as terrorism. Earlier today, the Mirror obtained CCTV footage filmed from a mobile phone shop which shows the moment a Ford people carrier tries to squeeze through crowds of football supporters moments before accelerating down Water Street, hitting multiple people.
In the video, the car can be seen crawling slowly down the street as hundreds of people mill around it, emerging slightly in front of several others, travelling faster towards the city centre. People appeared to be at ease around the cars as they crawled through the centre, keeping their focus trained on the festivities before the car - minutes later - powered into dozens of people.
Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, said he, his wife and two children watched the collision as it happened around 10ft away from them. The dad added the car had emerged from "right next to an ambulance" which was parked at the time.
Mr Rashid said: "It emerged from just right next to an ambulance, which was parked up. This grey people carrier just pulled up from the right." He went on: "It was travelling south, down Water Street, straight towards the Strand, which is where the docks are."
Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: "The car stopped at the scene and a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area was arrested.
"We believe him to be the driver of the vehicle. What I can tell you is that we believe this to be an isolated incident and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it. The incident is not currently being treated as terrorism."
In an update shared today, Ms Sims said: "It is believed the driver of the Ford Galaxy car involved in this incident was able to follow an ambulance onto Water Street after the road block was temporarily lifted so that the ambulance crew could attend to a member of the public who was having a suspected heart attack. As with many large events, with event organisers we planned for all contingencies and this included the implementation of road closures to protect pedestrians and an armed policing presence was also in place throughout the day.
"There was no intelligence to suggest an incident of this nature would take place, and as we previously stated, the incident is not being treated as terrorism. An extensive investigation into the precise circumstances of the incident is ongoing and we continue to ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the incident and refrain from sharing distressing content online."
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