A car ploughed through crowds of people out celebrating Liverpool FC's Premier League win on Monday night, which left 27 individuals requiring treatment in hospital
Police at the cordoned
Police at the cordoned Strand in Liverpool city centre
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Image: Liverpool Echo)
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Four children are among those injured - one seriously - after a car ploughed into a crowd of people during Liverpool's Premier League victory parade.
Some 27 people, including the youngsters, were rushed to hospital last night after the collision, an incident not thought be terrorism. Witnesses have described scenes of horror in the city where an estimated one million people took to the streets for the football club's Victory Parade.
A 53-year-old man arrested is believed to be its driver, Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said in a press conference later on Monday night. She spoke alongside a representative from North West Ambulance Service, who confirmed four kids were hurt.
One child was among four people whom were lifted from beneath the car which ploughed into crowds. David Kitchin, of North West Ambulance Service, said: "Sadly four of the injured were children who were enjoying the day with their friends and their families. We can confirm that our teams treated 20 patients at the scene for minor injuries, and these did not need hospital treatment.
"Twenty-seven patients in total were taken to hospital by ambulance, and we believe two of those, including one of the children, have sustained serious injuries."
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A blue forensics tent remains in place in the city centre
A blue forensics tent remains in place in the city centre
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Image:
Liverpool Echo)
A "robust" traffic management plan had been in place for the parade, police confirmed. Assistant Chief Constable Sims added: "In the lead-up to this event we had been working closely with event organisers and a robust traffic management plan was put in place for the parade, which included a number of road closures throughout the route and the city centre." She urged people to refrain from sharing "distressing footage" from the incident online, but called for videos to be passed to the police.
Liverpool had held the open-top bus parade which began by Allerton Maze south of the city before embarking on a 10-mile route over three-and-a-half hours ending with a finale on the Strand in the city centre. The incident then unfolded in Water Street, which connects onto the Strand, about a mile before the parade's finishing point.
Matthew O'Carroll, 28, from Runcorn, Cheshire 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.
(left to right) North West Ambulance Service's Dave Kitchin, Merseyside Police's Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims and Nick Searle, chief fire officer for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service
(left to right) North West Ambulance Service's Dave Kitchin, Merseyside Police's Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims and Nick Searle, chief fire officer for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service talk to reporters
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Image:
PA)
Another witness, Harry Rashid, 48, described the car as a grey, people carrier travelling south down the street towards the Strand. Footage of the incident, which was circulating online on Monday, 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. Mr Rashid said: "It was extremely fast. Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car."
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. The witness said: "It was horrible, and you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people."
Afterwards, there was a heavy emergency services presence afterwards in the littered street, with police cars, ambulances and fire engines all at the scene. Several casualties were seen being taken away by crews, including a conscious man on a stretcher being put into an ambulance.
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