The driver who ploughed into fans celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title has been arrested on suspicion of drug driving and attempted murder after he “followed” an ambulance past a roadblock, police have said.
The 53-year-old British man, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving offences and driving while unfit through drugs. He remains in custody, where he is being interviewed.
Detectives have been given additional time to question the man, having been granted an extension until around lunchtime on Wednesday.
“It is believed the driver of the Ford Galaxy car involved in this incident was able to follow an ambulance on to Water Street after the roadblock was temporarily lifted so that the ambulance crew could attend to a member of the public who was having a suspected heart attack,” Merseyside’s assistant chief constable Jenny Sims said.
“There was no intelligence to suggest an incident of this nature would take place,” she said, “and as we have previously stated, the incident is not being treated as terrorism.”
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A total of 50 people were treated in hospital after the incident, which happened at the junction of Rumford Street and Water Street, Ms Sims said, with 11 of those still in hospital for ongoing treatment on Tuesday afternoon.
She said all were in a stable condition and “appear to be recovering well”.
There were no “major traumas” or life-threatening injuries among the victims, medical staff at Royal Liverpool university hospital told Britain’s Princess Anne, who met nurses, consultants and paramedics.
Marc Lucky, the divisional medical director for surgery at Aintree university hospital, told Princess Anne: “We were very, very fortunate yesterday, I must say.”
Jay Rathore, a consultant, added: “Most of the injuries were limb injuries. No [injuries were] life-threatening, we were able to manage them.”
Merseyside police’s detective chief superintendent Karen Jaundrill said police had so far identified 65 confirmed casualties.
“Further work is ongoing to identify other people affected, and we will continue to support these individuals in the days and weeks to come,” she said.
Liverpool’s metro mayor, Steve Rotheram, said the mood in the city had moved from shock to reflection and relief that no one had been killed.
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He said he hoped the injured “pull through very, very quickly”, telling BBC 5 Live: “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.”
He was joined on a visit to the police cordon on Tuesday evening by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper.
Britain’s prime minister said the nation’s thoughts were with the victims and the wider community. “Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool,” Keir Starmer said.
“Scenes of joy turned to utter horror and devastation, and my thoughts and the thoughts of the whole country are with all of those that are affected, those injured, which of course includes children, their families, their friends, the whole community, Liverpool fans everywhere.”
The former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who attended Monday’s parade, said he was “shocked and devastated”.
On Tuesday, a large section of Water Street remained cordoned off with police vans and officers stationed along its length, and forensic investigators in white suits gathering evidence.
Red flare and firework casings, bottles and cans lay discarded in the gutters, with red bunting and a Liverpool FC flag still tied to railings inside the cordon.
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Businesses on the street remained shuttered, with a mobile police station and a forensic investigation unit parked inside the cordon. Traffic was diverted along nearby roads, with the scene of the incident right in the heart of the city centre, close to Liverpool’s famous waterfront.
Mr Rotheram told reporters the car should not have been on Water Street and the “big question” was how the incident happened.
“The question ... is why did a car end up in Water Street and that’s for the police now to conclude their investigations. We’ll find out the reason why it was there,” he said.
Mohamad Abbar (31), the owner of a mobile phone shop on Dale Street, which is a few roads down from the scene of the incident, said he was surprised to see so many cars moving among the crowds of pedestrians, and felt it was “dangerous”.
“Too many cars were here,” he said. “Too many cars everywhere.”
Liverpool city council confirmed that hostile vehicle mitigation measures had been in place on Water Street as part of a rolling road closure to support the traffic management plan for the parade.
At a late-night press conference on Monday, North West ambulance service confirmed 27 people had been taken to hospital, with two of the injured, including one child, sustaining serious injuries.
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. – Guardian
