LAST UPDATE | 27 May

THE CAR WHICH ploughed into a crowd during Liverpool FC’s victory parade should not have been on the road and the “big question” is how the incident happened, the city’s metro mayor has said.

Steve Rotheram said four people are still “very, very ill in hospital” after the vehicle struck pedestrians on Water Street in the city centre yesterday evening.

A 53-year-old man was arrested after the “horror” incident and four children were among around 50 who were injured – including one child who was seriously hurt.

Merseyside Police said the suspect was the driver of the car, white, British and from the Liverpool area, and added that it was not being treated as terrorism.

Speaking to reporters at the scene today, Rotheram said questions about how the car was able to enter the road were “legitimate”.

He said: “Water Street was not a route where vehicles were supposed to be using it, it was blocked off.

At this end of it, which is the direction that it was coming in, towards The Strand, there were literally hundreds of thousands of people here, so no vehicle would have got through anyway.

“The questions, I suppose, are legitimate, but we have to give the police the time to conclude their investigations, which is what they’re doing.”

Questions are being asked as to how a car was able to drive into crowds and injure dozens of people, but no clear answers have yet emerged.

Four people are still “very, very ill in hospital” after the incident. 

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live this morning,  Rotheram said he was hopeful that those seriously injured “pull through very, very quickly”.

He told the broadcaster: “The actual incident in Water Street will live with those people for all the wrong reasons, and that’s where we have to really focus our minds.

“There are still four people who are very, very ill in hospital and we are hoping of course that they pull through very, very quickly.”

British prime minister Keir Starmer said he had spoken to Rotheram about the incident, adding: “Everyone, especially children, should be able to celebrate their heroes without this horror.”

Starmer meanwhile said that it is a “matter for the police” that they gave details about the man who was arrested.

Forensic officers walk past an inflatable field tent at the scene Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Asked if he would like to see similar details released in the future in similar cases, the Prime Minister said: “That is a matter for the police and the investigation is ongoing so I think we need to leave that to them.

“I think today is a day really for thinking about all those impacted by this and being absolutely clear that we stand with them.”

Meanwhile, former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said he is “shocked and devastated” and that his “thoughts and prayers are with all those who are injured and affected”.

Victory parade

With most people enjoying a spring break holiday, up to 1 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.

The parade began at Allerton Maze south of the city before embarking on a 16 km route over three-and-a-half hours ending with a finale on the Strand in the city centre.

Chaos erupted on Water Street, about a mile before the parade’s endpoint.

The bus had only recently passed the attendees when a vehicle rammed into the crowds, witnesses reported.

Footage of the incident, which was circulating online yesterday, appeared to show the car speed up as it veered into pedestrians on both sides of the street, passing a Hooters restaurant at one point, with people knocked to the floor off the windshield, falling to the ground and darting out of the way to avoid harm.

Forensic officers at the scene in Water Street Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

One onlooker, Matthew O’Carroll, 28, saw the car approaching the top of Water Street.

He said the vehicle went past a parked police van at a “decent” speed and that the driver was beeping as he went through the crowd.

Meanwhile, witness Mike Maddra told the PA news agency the “car turned left, mounted pavement, come towards us and runs towards the buildings”.

He said: “we got out the way and it was speeding up”.

Maddra said he thought he saw two people being hit and added, “it looked deliberate”.

Social media video also showed angry fans converging on the vehicle as it came to a stop, smashing windows before police intervened.

Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihul, said you could “hear the bumps” as the driver rammed spectators.

He described how crowds began trying to smash the car windows, causing the driver to stall for about 10 seconds, before putting his foot down again and hitting more people.

Witnesses told The Guardian the whole ordeal lasted 20-30 seconds, and the first victim was thrown “about 20 feet” in the air.

‘Joy and happiness turned into fear and terror’

Dan Ogunshakin, an off-duty BBC reporter attending the parade, told the public broadcaster he saw people hitting the car before it reversed and then “it suddenly accelerated forwards”, straight towards the surrounding crowd.

“What had once been an atmosphere of celebration and joy and happiness suddenly turned into fear and terror and disbelief,” he said.

Police said the car eventually stopped at the scene and the man was detained.

BBC reporter Matt Cole described how police officers exited a “squad” of armed police vehicles with rifles and medical packs and began running to the scene.

Daniel Jones, 28, told The Sun newspaper that police restrained people who were “smashing” the car.

“They were ripping the register plate off,” he said. “The back window was broken when the (driver) was still in it.”

Twenty-seven people were taken to hospital, and a further 20 were treated at the scene.

Nick Searle, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service chief fire officer, said four people who were trapped under the car, including a child, were rescued by firefighters.

At a press conference, Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said the “horrific incident” was not being treated as terrorism.

Liverpool Echo reporter Paddy Edrich said local Italian restaurant Riva was used as a makeshift triage centre.

“People inside Riva are being treated by paramedics. Some have bandages around their heads and limbs,” he said in a post on X.

“Staff in the restaurant appear to be providing fluids to those being treated and the emergency services.”

Other casualties were spotted being taken away by ambulance to nearby hospitals.

A heavy emergency services presence remained in place for hours afterwards, with police cars, fire engines and ambulances remaining on the street.

A large blue tent was erected on Water Street, with two fire engines parked in front.

Liverpool FC said in a statement that the club was in “direct contact with Merseyside Police regarding the incident on Water Street which happened towards the end of the trophy parade”.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident,” a post on X read.

“We will continue to offer our full support to the emergency services and local authorities who are dealing with this incident.”

Well-wishes flowed from other Premier League clubs, including Everton, Manchester United and Manchester City.

In a statement, Starmer said: “The scenes in Liverpool are appalling — my thoughts are with all those injured or affected.”

“They are supporting and caring for those injured in these terrible events.

“Everyone, especially children, should be able to celebrate their heroes without this horror.

“The city has a long and proud history of coming together through difficult times.

“Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool.”