Survivor of Liverpool car ramming talks of shock and panic

A 53-year-old British man who injured 65 people when his car rammed into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans celebrating their team’s Premier League championship was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said Tuesday.

The driver was also being held on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving on drugs, Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Jaundrill said.

The incident late Monday afternoon turned a jubilant parade into a tragedy that sent 50 people to hospitals for treatment of their injuries. Eleven remained hospitalised Tuesday in stable condition.

The wounded included four children, one of whom had been trapped beneath the vehicle with three adults.

Police had closed off much of the area to traffic, but the driver is believed to have manoeuvred around a road block by following an ambulance that was rushing to treat a person suspected of having a heart attack, Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said.

Merseyside Police said they were not treating the incident as terrorism and were not looking for other suspects. The force has not identified the arrested driver. Police in Britain usually do not name suspects until they are charged.

Car ramming survivor Jack Trotter said he was clipped by the vehicle which injured his back and legs and resulted in the use of crutches.

"It was screaming and crying, absolutely traumatised. People were running everywhere, not knowing where anybody was," fellow survivor Abbie Gallagher told British broadcaster Sky News.

Detectives were still working to piece together why the minivan plowed into crowds packing a narrow street just after the players of Liverpool Football Club had celebrated its championship with an open-topped bus parade.

The incident cast a shadow over a city that has suffered twin tragedies linked to the soccer team and led to widespread expressions of shock, sadness and support.

“It is truly devastating to see that what should have been a joyous celebration for many could end in such distressing circumstances," King Charles III said in a statement while on a visit to Canada. “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need."

Hundreds of thousands of Liverpudlians had crammed the streets of the port city in northwest England on Monday to celebrate the team winning England’s Premier League this season for a record-tying 20th top-flight title.

As the parade was wrapping up, a minivan turned down a cordoned-off street just off the parade route and plowed into the sea of fans wrapped in their red Liverpool scarves, jerseys and other memorabilia.

A video on social media showed the van strike a man, tossing him in the air, before veering into a larger crowd, where it plowed a path through the group and pushed bodies along the street before coming to a stop.

The storied franchise has been associated with two of the biggest tragedies in professional soccer.

Its fans were largely blamed for the 1985 disaster at Heysel stadium in Belgium when 39 people — mostly supporters of Italian team Juventus — died when Liverpool backers surged into the rival’s stand.

Four years later, a crush at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.