Latest news with #JohnIsherwood
Irish Independent
27-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Cork Liverpool fan describes ‘moments of panic' as car ploughed into crowd of supporters, injuring 47 people
John Isherwood, a broadcaster with Cork's Red FM originally from the UK, was in Liverpool over the weekend for the festivities and was among the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets of Liverpool for an open-top bus parade of the Premier League trophy. Witnesses to the incident have said the bus had only just passed by the scene of where the car drove into the crowd. Merseyside Police have said a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area was arrested. Mr Isherwood said he is still 'a little bit shook up' after witnessing the incident which left 47 people injured, including four children. 'I managed to sleep through the night, but the thought of it all and the images of what I saw in front of me are still very much in my mind,' he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland. 'I was quite near the Liver Building for the actual parade itself, and I'd lost all my friends at this point, walked back towards Water Street and we were all quite jubilant. 'The area was buzzing with life until we got on to Water Street and literally as we turned on to it, it was directly opposite us. There was a static ambulance, and it was moments, literal seconds of panic, as this car just came out of nowhere. 'And it seemed to either hit the ambulance – I'm trying to piece it together from other eyewitness reports I've seen – It seemed to either hit the ambulance and catch someone between it and the ambulance and then reversed and headed off down Wall Street itself.' Mr Isherwood said he and his friends then rushed to a person on the ground and others around them were 'panicking', and they 'couldn't believe' what they had seen take place. He said it took just seconds for emergency services to arrive with an ambulance already at the scene and police not far behind. 'It was a very, very rapid response and our concern was for the person who was immediately in front of us on the floor, who did look in a fairly bad state. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more 'But as soon as we saw that the crews were there, we backed off and tried to disperse as many people as possible, get out of the way, give the crews the space to work. 'And then we heard the commotion from further down the street and sort of saw the car weaving around so. I said to another friend, we saw way too much of something that should never have happened.' There was an outpouring of offers of support from people in Liverpool on social media yesterday and Mr Isherwood, who lost a friend in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, said the city of Liverpool has come together following the incident 'just as it has done in the past'. 'I lost a close family friend at Hillsborough who was known in my local town, his family owned the green grocers, and the club came together then, they've come together in the past and the club and the city will come together again. 'I've urged Liverpool supporters or anybody in the city who saw my social media to get in touch with me if they need to. I'm here for them as well.'
RTÉ News
27-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Eyewitnesses share the shock of "horrendous" Liverpool car ramming
James Pearce, Liverpool FC reporter for The Athletic, has the latest from Liverpool after 27 people were hospitalised when a car drove into pedestrians at Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade. John Isherwood, Cork-based Liverpool fan and Red FM broadcaster, recalls what he experienced at Liverpool's victory parade.
Irish Examiner
26-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
'It was chaos, it was absolutely horrific': Cork fan caught up in Liverpool collision
A Cork radio broadcaster has described the horror that unfolded before his eyes while he was in Liverpool city on Monday to witness his beloved football team celebrate their premier league victory. John Isherwood, who hosts the Saturday morning show on Red FM, was among thousands of fans who lined the city's streets to take part in the celebrations. However, at around 6pm, a car collided with a crowd of people as the parade was in full swing. The radio host told the Irish Examiner what he witnessed. 'It was so bad, it was chaos, there were people just running and screaming, and we saw a man lying on the ground, he did not look in a good state at all' he said. John, who is originally from Manchester but lives in Cork City, said he was walking home from the celebrations when he heard screaming. 'I've been in the UK since Saturday and I tried to get a ticket for the game but there were none, so we made our way to the parade, me and five other mates. Police and emergency personnel during the Premier League winners parade. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA 'There was no signal in the city, it was impossible to find people or call anyone, we had a pub as a point of contact and we had just come out of there after seeing the parade when there was loads of noise. 'I was at the start of what happened, we came out on to the junction, at Dale street and Water Street – we came out from the corner of pub, where we cut through this street to dodge the crowd. 'We heard a bit of commotion and looked up and things were going off pretty fast' he said. 'It seemed like this car was reversing, and we could see this man lying between a car and an ambulance. He was on the ground and it was not good. Suddenly everyone was screaming, they ran to the car that knocked everyone down and they were going at the car, it was becoming really dangerous. He said he could see the ambulance trying to drive to the scene through the crowds and that people were 'lying on the ground'. 'We were trying to tell people to give the man some space and let the emergency crew do their work, but it was all becoming chaotic" he said. It was only after he left the city to go home that John was able to piece together fully what had happened. 'I just knew it was getting out of hand, people were really stressed and screaming and we knew it was best to let the emergency services do their work and to get out of there. 'Then we saw another person lying on the road and being tended to." It was absolutely horrific. 'We have seen the footage since and we are able to see now fully what happened as the images are from overhead. "I really don't know what happened or why, but we were right in the middle of it. I just hope all the people who were injured and that man who was on the ground are ok.' Merseyside Police have confirmed they have arrested a 53-year-old British man from the Liverpool area and that investigations are ongoing. Read More Man arrested after car ploughs into crowd at Liverpool victory parade
