A British man was taken into custody after he drove his minivan into a gathering of Liverpool soccer fans who were celebrating their team’s Premier League Championship win on Monday. This incident resulted in injuries to almost four dozen individuals.
Officials have stated that the 53-year-old man seems to be the sole person involved in the event, which is not being treated as a terrorist act.
Tens of thousands of fans had joined in the hours-long procession under heavy security along a 10-mile (16 kilometer) route.
Here’s what we know so far about the crash:
What happened?
According to reports, the incident involved a man driving his vehicle into a crowd of soccer fans in the northwestern city of England. Emergency responders, including an air ambulance, quickly arrived at the location to assist those who were hurt.
Paradegoer Peter Jones said he heard the car smash into the crowd and saw at least a half dozen people down in the road.
Another paradegoer, Harry Rashid, said the car stopped after initially hitting some of the victims. Rashid said people then charged toward the vehicle, smashing its windows, and the driver kept going.
Merseyside Police said they were investigating what led to the incident.
Who was affected?
Nearly four dozen people were injured, including four children.
Twenty-seven people were taken to the hospital, with two suffering serious injuries, and another 20 were treated for minor injuries at the scene, according to authorities.
Four people were stuck beneath the vehicle and had to be freed by firefighters.
Why were fans celebrating?
Liverpool fans were celebrating the city team’s Premier League soccer championship in a record-tying 20th top-flight title.
The team’s last league title was in 2020, but fans couldn’t publicly celebrate in the same way due to pandemic-related restrictions.
Monday’s parade wound through the streets despite wet weather. Fans danced and waved scarves while the team’s players traveled on top of two buses.
Liverpool clinched the title after defeating Tottenham last month. Rival Manchester United also has the achievement of winning 20 English league titles.
