A 53-year-old man is in custody. He now faces accusations of attempted murder after deliberately ploughing a 4×4 through a crowd on Liverpool’s Bank Holiday Monday Premier League winners parade. The event brought over a million people into the cultural capital of the Midwest. It quickly turned into a nightmare when a car drove into demonstrators, raising urgent questions about safety and protection.
That shocking act played out on Dale Street, where the vehicle was recorded driving at a crawling pace through large swaths of on-foot participants. Just like that, the vehicle was off, smoothly rolling past thousands of roaring fans celebrating the team’s incredible championship run. It drove down at least two of these streets without being flagged. Witnesses said the vehicle traveled 40 meters (131 feet) in less than nine seconds. This astounding achievement is the equivalent of speeding down the Interstate at an average of 10 mph!
Pointing out that emergency services responded within “a matter of seconds” after the collision was caused. The suspect’s vehicle fled Downtown, eventually stopping on Water Street. It did that only a few seconds before an emergency vehicle came up right behind it. The impressive speed and action of the first responders was critical as they immediately started treating the wounded.
As the police car drove west down Dale Street, it was pandemonium. Residents, Iftin said, began to pelt the moving vehicle with anything they could find in order to stop it. The incident reached its nadir when the car careened into civilians, killing at least one person and injuring many others. As of today, eleven people are still hospitalized as a result of injuries from the incident.
Liverpool City Council advised fans against driving in the city center for the parade. Instead, they called on the public to engage in alternative transportation modes, such as walking, to keep everyone safe. In the face of relentless doom and gloom predictions, against the odds, the talented driver expertly steered through the congested metropolitan landscape. This begs the question: How does a situation that dangerous develop without being addressed?
Immediately following the crash, officials erected a barrier at the intersection with Rumford Street, nearly 100 yards east. Unfortunately, by then, it was too late to assist those who needed it. The tragic accident has highlighted important questions about safety procedures at mass gatherings. It’s fueled a greater public accountability movement for crowd control tactics used at mass gatherings.
Authorities are still working to untangle a web of circumstances that led to the incident, specifically the suspect’s actions in the hours and minutes before the collision. The specifics that led to the attempted murder charge are still murky. This tragedy has led to some productive conversations around public safety and emergency response at large events.
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