Merseyside Police announced on Wednesday that they have been given until tomorrow to question the driver who allegedly crashed into onlookers at the victory parade.
One neighbour of the suspect told The i Paper: “He seemed a nice man, very outgoing.”
“I’m shocked, no one’s any bother round here.”
The supporters were celebrating their team’s Premier League title victory when a Ford Galaxy people-carrier struck a crowd massed in the city centre.
An angry crowd surrounds the people-carrier in Liverpool city centre (Photo: BBC)
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs, with police now granted more time to interview him.
“We continue to support those still receiving treatment and as part of our ongoing enquiries we are identifying more people who were injured.
Shortly after the incident, Merseyside Police moved quickly to release the detail that the 53-year-old man arrested was white and British.
Initially, police said the man arrested on Monday was from the Liverpool area, and that the car had stopped at the scene.
He was dragged from the vehicle
Video footage shows the car being revved up before it veered into the crowd. One clip shows the driver holding down the horn before he speeds off into the pedestrians. At one point, a supporter opens the door as an angry group of fans surround the vehicle.
Police officers are seen pulling the driver from the car after the crowd surged towards the vehicle (Photo: BBC)After it drives down Dale Street, fans are seen punching and kicking the car and smashing the rear windscreen. The car then drives into Water Street and is surrounded by fans before accelerating onto the pavement, hitting dozens of supporters.
Car ‘tailgated ambulance’
Police have said they believe the Ford Galaxy swerved around a roadblock by tailgating an ambulance that was responding to an emergency call over a person suffering a heart attack.
Jack Trotter, 22, from Newtownards, County Down, found himself “face to face” with the vehicle. “He had slowed down. And then I put my hands up and pleaded for him to stop, and he wasn’t stopping,” he told PA news agency.
A total of 50 people required hospital treatment, with 11 still in hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
A fan is assisted by firefighters after the incident (Photo: Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith)
“As part of the ongoing investigation, we have also been able to identify more people who were injured, with 79 in total who we are now speaking with.
“The investigation team have today been granted further time to continue questioning him in police custody, which will remain in place until tomorrow.”
Fans have criticised crowd control
Sian, 43, who had travelled from London , told The Times the situation was “frankly insane”.
Sian said some spectators tried to drive away after the parade had passed. “There were cars trying to get by but there were thousands of people, I just didn’t understand why the street was open to cars, and that people could park on streets in the centre, when it was so busy,” she said.
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