Liverpool team wins the championship, people march, man drives to the crowd, fans carry car to save people

A 53-year-old British man drove straight into a large number of fans celebrating Liverpool's Premier League championship in Liverpool city centre, injuring nearly 50 people, 27 of whom were sent to the hospital and two were seriously injured. Police have arrested the suspect but say the car crash has nothing to do with terrorism.

The driver kept honking his whistle and angered the fans

Liverpool had secured his victory in the Premier League this season last month and officially won the trophy in the last round of the league on the 25th. The 26th coincides with a public holiday. Although there is rain in the morning, hundreds of thousands of fans rushed to the streets to celebrate. The grand celebration sets out from the Allerton maze in the south of the city and is originally planned to end in Strand. However, in Water Street, about a mile from the finish line, a tragedy broke the originally festive parade atmosphere. Video posted on social media shows a Ford Galaxy trying to reverse on a crowded street, causing angry encirclement for fans. As the vehicle moved abnormally in the crowd, fans slapped the car window and kicked the tires. Some pulled off the wiper and tried to smash the window, and some tried to open the car door and question the driver. Then, the driver suddenly accelerated and the vehicle rushed out of the crowd, causing many people to be knocked away, and screams were everywhere.

Although the police dispatched a large number of police forces around the Liverpool team bus parade route, according to some witnesses' description, the Water Street where the incident was not included in the closure range of the parade. The order was a little chaotic at the time of the incident, the crowd was overcrowded, and there was also a lack of necessary passage instructions. In addition, there was no warning when the car involved in the accident broke into the crowd at high speed, and some people were lucky enough to avoid it because they heard the screams. The vehicle involved initially traveled at about 30 mph and kept honking its whistle to anger the fans. The car traveled about 200 yards through the crowd and knocked down several pedestrians. When the vehicle finally stopped, angry fans surrounded the vehicle, threw objects and tried to overturn the car to rescue the injured, and within seconds, the police quickly dragged the driver out of the vehicle and arrested it.

48-year-old Harry Rashid was participating in a parade with his wife and daughter. He recalled: "The gray car rushed from the high speed on the right and hit the person next to us. We first heard the 'bang' impact, and then saw someone rolling down from the hood."

bystander Chelsea Yuan described: "The crowd was as crowded as sardines, and suddenly a black car rushed straight." The entire collision lasted about 20 to 30 seconds, and a victim was knocked to 20 feet (about 6 meters) away.

Survivor: We are just seconds away from death

The person familiar with the matter described: "When he found himself surrounded by a crowd and his vehicle was slapped, he showed obvious panic. But shockingly, instead of driving away, he lost control and took extreme actions."

Witness Wigan citizen Patrick Milligan (25), recalled: "Watching the parade was the best in our lives." But five minutes later, the scene suddenly became as terrifying as a tsunami. The car rushed to the crowd at high speed, with screams all around. "

An eyewitness recalled: "It was so terrible. He knocked down at least twenty or thirty people. I witnessed everything with my own eyes, but fortunately I hid in the alley before escaping."

24-year-old Frankie, a survivor of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, experienced this accident again. She said tremblingly, "I was at the scene of the explosion, but I didn't expect to have a similar horror experience today. The car body hit me, I fell to the ground, my eyes were blurred. I had cuts and bruises on my body, but someone was injured even more severely."

Robbie Porter was seriously injured by shrapnel piercing his heart in the Manchester bombing. This time he was only "several seconds" from the impact point. The Liverpool fan from Wirral criticized: "The police should have long been aware of the security risks outside the march route. I was trembling - this kind of place could also be a target." The suspect was white, and the man was white, from Liverpool. According to sources, the man appeared at a nearby Hooters bar before the incident and was suspected of illegally following an ambulance into the controlled area in Water Street.

Police did not release more information about the suspect. Jenny Sims, deputy director of the Merseyside Police Department, where Liverpool is located, said at a press conference that the initial judgment of the billiard fans was a "isolated incident" and the police do not believe it is related to terrorism.

As for why the British police have not announced the identity of the suspects involved as quickly as usual, a former London Police Officer explained that the police may want to calm public speculation that the incident is related to extreme religious attacks. In July last year, after three girls were killed in the northwestern town of Southport, someone spread rumors on social media, causing people to believe that the suspect was a refugee seeking asylum in the UK, causing several days of riots.

It is reported that 20 injured were treated at the scene, and 27 people, including 4 children, were sent to the hospital for treatment, and one child was included in the two seriously injured. Firefighters rescued four people from the bottom of the car. Witnesses said that about 10 minutes before the incident, a passenger bus carrying the player passed by the crime scene. After the incident, British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer posted on social media: "The scene that happened in Liverpool is shocking. I express my condolences to all the injured and affected people and will continue to pay attention to the progress of the situation." The official Liverpool Football Club said that it is in direct contact with the police and expressed condolences to those who have been affected by this "serious incident". At a late-night press conference on the 26th, Liverpool Councilman Liam Robinson said the incident "cast a very dark shadow on the city's happy day", and he promised to disclose more information about the case "at the right time". Restaurants along the

Water Street opened doors to rescue the injured. "In the Riva Hotel, medical staff are bandaging the injured's head and limbs, and employees provide drinking water for first responders." Witnesses said.

Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter He Boqi