Driver arrested after car plows into celebrating Liverpool fans

LONDON — A 53-year-old British man plowed his minivan into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans who had been celebrating the city team’s Premier League championship Monday and was arrested, police said.

Police said 27 people were hospitalized after being struck. An air ambulance and other emergency vehicles swarmed the scene to respond to reports that multiple pedestrians had been hit.

“It was extremely fast,” said Harry Rashid, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters and only several feet away. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being updated on the situation and thanked police for their quick response.

“The scenes in Liverpool are appalling — my thoughts are with all those injured or affected,” Starmer said.

Liverpool fans had come out in their tens of thousands to celebrate the team winning the Premier League this season for a record-tying 20th top-flight title.

Liverpool’s last league title came in 2020 but supporters were denied the chance to publicly celebrate that trophy because of restrictions in place at the time during the pandemic.

Dancing, scarf-and-flag-waving fans braved wet weather to line the streets and climb up traffic lights to get a view of Liverpool’s players, who were atop two buses bearing the words “Ours Again.”

The hours-long procession — surrounded by a thick layer of police and security — crawled along a 10-mile route and through a sea of red smoke and rain. Fireworks exploded from the Royal Liver Building in the heart of the city to seemingly signal the end of the parade.

The team issued a short statement saying its thoughts and prayers were with those affected.

Rashid said after the car rammed its initial victims, it came to a halt and the crowd charged the vehicle and began smashing windows.

“But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid said. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”

Rashid said it looked deliberate and he was in shock and disbelief.

“My daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground,” he said. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.”

Melley and Douglas write for the Associated Press.