Police have arrested a 53-year-old white British man after a car hit several pedestrians during Liverpool FC’s trophy parade through the city.
The incident happened as thousands of fans lined the streets of the city to celebrate the club’s Premier League title victory.A police spokesperson said: “We are currently dealing with reports of a road traffic collision in Liverpool city centre. We were contacted at just after 6pm today, Monday 26 May, following reports that a car had been in collision with a number of pedestrians on Water Street.”
The car stopped at the scene and a male has been detained. Emergency services are currently on the scene. We will issue more updates as we have them.”
In a later statement, the force said it had arrested a “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area”.
‘We could just hear screams’Eyewitness Natasha Rinaldi said she was watching the parade from her friend’s living room window when “we heard some screams”.
“It was so loud. People sounded desperate. And then we looked at the window and we saw the car [had] run over people,” she told Sky News.
She added: “Then people started rushing to go after the driver and they tried to break the car. The police did everything to block and to push people away.
“We could just hear screams. We were very confused. Some of my friends were down there and the car was so near them. It was a horrible scene, nobody was expecting it.”
Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, attended the parade with his wife and two young daughters. He said the incident “happened about 10 feet away from us”.
Mr Rashid said: “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 […]. It was extremely fast.”
He added that his family heard people being knocked off the bonnet of a car. He added that the driver stalled for 10 seconds before “he put his foot down again and just ploughed through the rest of them”.
“It was horrible. My daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground,” Mr Rashid said.
‘We had to jump out of the way’
Chelsea Yuen had been walking up Water Street with her friend and their partner when they had a near miss with the car itself.
“We were literally like sardines walking up the street, and then we heard beeping and screaming and when we looked up, there was a black, people carrier, driving straight towards us,” she said.
“Me and my friend Francesca jumped out of the way and pulled her little girl out of the way.”
Ms Yuen said she could see the windows of the car smashed in, and people were chasing after it.
Amid the chaos and confusion, she told Sky News she didn’t know what was happening, and the three of them tried to get away as quickly as possible.
On their way away from the location, she said she saw people begging police to intervene.
She said: “I’m just in shock. Like we can’t stop shaking.”
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said in a statement that it was “currently assessing the situation and working with other members of the emergency services”.
“Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible,” the statement added.
There is no information on the injuries sustained by those attending the parade yet, with NWAS saying it would “update casualty numbers at a press conference scheduled for later tonight”.
A hospital trust has urged members of the public not to call to ask about their loved ones.
In a statement, NHS University Hospitals Liverpool Group said: “Following the incident in Liverpool city centre this evening, we know that many people are concerned about loved ones.
“Next of kin will be contacted, so please help us to manage the incident as best we can by refraining from calling our switchboard.”
