Police have named and charged a 53-year-old man with multiple offences after a car collided with a crowd of people during Liverpool’s title-winning parade on Monday.
Paul Doyle from the West Derby area of Liverpool has been charged with seven serious offences, including two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), two counts of causing unlawful and malicious bodily harm with intent to cause GBH and two counts of attempted and unlawful and malicious bodily harm with intent to cause GBH.
He has also been charged with dangerous driving and will appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Merseyside Police say 79 people, including a nine-year-old child, were injured following the incident on Water Street in the centre of the city. Seven of those remain in hospital, police confirmed.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, assistant chief constable Jenny Sims said: “As always our thoughts remain with all those injured and affected by the appalling incident that took place during the Liverpool Football Club parade on Monday.”
“I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions,” she added. “Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism, to seek the answers to all those questions.”
It was revealed by police earlier in the week that the suspect had followed an ambulance through a temporarily lifted roadblock after a member of the public suffered a suspected heart attack.
Authorities had previously confirmed that the incident was not being treated as terrorism, and that police were not looking for anyone else in relation to it. Liverpool confirmed the club were in contact with police and said they were continuing to support emergency services and local authorities.
The club were celebrating a first Premier League title since the 2019-20 season, where Covid-19 lockdown restrictions limited supporter festivities, and just a second top-flight title since 1990. More than 500,000 people attended the parade.
A number of current and former players and managers paid tribute to those impacted and the work of the emergency services. Head coach Arne Slot did not attend the League Managers Association awards dinner on Tuesday in solidarity with those affected.
What happened at the Liverpool parade?
Liverpool’s victory parade was scheduled to begin at 2.30pm local time (BST) and last for four hours, with two open-top buses carrying players and staff taking a 15km route through the city. Merseyside Police warned of a high volume of people coming into the city ahead of the event.
Police said they received reports shortly after 6pm of a car colliding with a number of pedestrians on Water Street in Liverpool city centre.
Video footage shows the car, surrounded by a large crowd, moving slowly before speeding up and knocking multiple pedestrians to the ground.
A man was detained and chief constable Sims told a press conference on Monday evening that this was believed to be the driver of the vehicle involved.
Police said on Tuesday that Water Street had been closed to traffic, but the car — a grey Ford Galaxy — followed an ambulance through a roadblock which had been temporarily lifted to allow crew through to treat a member of the public who was having a suspected heart attack.
What do we know about casualties?
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said on Monday that 27 people had been taken to various local hospitals by ambulance, with two of those sustaining serious injuries.
Twenty were treated at the scene for minor injuries, which did not need hospital treatment. Some patients also self-presented at local hospitals following the incident.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said when they arrived on the scene, four people were trapped under a vehicle, including one child.
On Monday, NWAS said one of those who suffered serious injury is a child, with four other children among those hurt.
On Tuesday afternoon, police said of the 50 eventually hospitalised, 11 remained in for treatment and are in a stable condition.
It was confirmed on Thursday that a total of 79 people have sustained injuries as a result of the incident, with seven still in hospital.
(Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
