Man falsely accused of being Liverpool crash driver has had to move out of his house after threats to his daughter BBC
Peter Cunningham (right) has been falsely accused on social media of being the driver of the car (Picture: BBC)
A single dad-of-three who has been wrongly accused of being the Liverpool crash driver has had to move out of his house after a social media ‘witch hunt’.
Peter Cunningham has had threats made against his family and is too scared to leave his home after a post saying he was the driver went viral.
The post came after a driver of a Ford Galaxy rammed into fans at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday evening.
A total of 79 people were left injured, with reports of babies in prams being thrown into the air and supporters becoming trapped under wheels.
A 53-year-old man from West Derby, Liverpool, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and unfit driving through drugs.
Get personalised updates on Liverpool every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Police have not yet named him, but a viral post wrongly named painter and decorator Peter, who is also from West Derby, as the driver of the vehicle which has left him ‘beside himself’.
Peter Cunningham, 54, from Huyton, Liverpool, who was wrongly identified on social media as the driver of the vehicle that crashed into the Liverpool FC parade on Water Street in the city Credit: Liverpool Echo
Peter Cunningham has had threats made against his family (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
Liverpool FC bus parade incident - MUST MUZZ FRAMES https://x.com/Aliimran112__/status/1927066107317264724
At least 79 people were injured at the incident on Monday (Picture: X)
He told Metro: ‘I couldn’t stay in my house last night as I am so worried about being attacked.
‘My oldest daughter has been receiving messages saying they wanted to attack us. I’m even scared to walk down the street.’
Peter said he first found out about the post after his brother rang him to let him know, but at first thought he was joking.
But the post has since been shared across Facebook and WhatsApp, leaving him with no way to say he was not at the parade or even in the city centre at the time of the incident.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool Victory Parade - Liverpool, Britain - May 26, 2025 A fan is assisted by fire fighters at an incident involving a car and supporters during the Victory parade Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
A 53-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder (Picture: Action Images via Reuters)
He said: ‘Police have just told me to take the post down, but how can I? I certainly didn’t make it and it has been shared so much it’s impossible to keep track.’
Posts on local Facebook groups shows his daughter pleading with people to take it down, with commenters even apologising for sharing it.
One woman wrote: ‘I’ve sent his pic to my mates on Whatapp, I feel like an arse now that I’ve sent it saying that’s him, I hope his family are okay. I’m sorry.’
Peter said he now wants to seek legal action against the posters, as his daughters, aged 13, 14 and 21, are still nervous about going home.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 27: Crime Scene Investigators at the scene of the Liverpool FC parade incident on Water Street on May 27, 2025 in Liverpool, England. Investigation and cleanup continued this morning after a car ploughed into a crowd gathered yesterday for the Liverpool F.C. victory parade, injuring nearly 50 people, including four children. Authorities said the suspect was arrested and they are not treating it as an act of terrorism. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Police have not yet named the suspect (Picture: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
He said: ‘I’ve had to remove myself from social media apps just so I don’t get any of the threats, but we are so worried someone is going to jump me if they see me in public.’
Neighbours of the suspect who remains in police custody have described as a ‘helpful family man’.
A neighbour told The Sun: ‘The wife is a really nice woman and they have children. No one can believe this has happened.
‘She first realised when she saw it was her car on the telly, when she saw it being driven at the parade.’
He is believed to have tailgated an ambulance that had been allowed through the cordon to get to someone having a heart attack.
A video shared exclusively with Metro showed a man driving into the crowd ‘deliberately’.
Radoslav Stamboliev, who filmed the clip, told Metro he thought the driver was ‘coming straight for us deliberately, completely straight faced’ and said there were children ‘everywhere’.
He had travelled up from London to watch the game, said he heard accelerating behind him before he jumped out of the way just in time.
He said: ‘I heard this massive engine revving behind me and he started to honk his horn as well.
‘He lunged forward and it felt like he was coming straight for us deliberately, completely straight faced.
‘Because he made so much noise before coming at us most of us moved out of the way in time.’
The incident is not being treated as terrorism by police.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this,check our news page.
MORE: Record nine English teams qualify for Europe – is yours one of them?
MORE: Why Liverpool pulled out of race to sign Matheus Cunha ahead of Manchester United
MORE: Shocking moment cop shoots driver through windscreen while clinging to car hood in Miami
Breaking News
Never miss the biggest stories with breaking news alerts in your inbox.