Driver plows into crowd in Liverpool, injuring 47

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Police and emergency personnel deal with a road traffic accident after a car collided with several pedestrians during the Premier League winner’s parade, in Liverpool, England, on Monday. Owen Humphreys — PA via Associated press

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By Michael D. Shear, Lizzie Dearden and Mark Walker

The New York Times

LONDON — A driver slammed a car into a crowd celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League victory, seriously injuring a child and an adult and sending more than two dozen people to hospitals, officials in England said Monday.

The crash created chaos at the end of a festive day in which hundreds of thousands of sports fans had gathered for a parade through Liverpool city center to celebrate their team.

Nearly 50 people were injured, police said. Four of those were children, the North West Ambulance Service said, including one with serious injuries.

Nick Searle, chief fire officer for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, said at a news conference Monday night that three adults and one child had been pulled from underneath the vehicle and sent to a hospital.

Overall, a total of 27 people were taken to four hospitals by ambulance, officials said, adding that 20 others were treated at the scene, and more were showing up at local emergency departments with injuries. Officials did not identify any of the victims.

Merseyside Police said the driver, a “53-year-old white British man” from the Liverpool area, had been detained at the scene after the vehicle stopped. Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said investigators believed the crash had been an isolated incident and that it was not being treated as terrorism. She said police were not searching for anyone else involved in the case, but declined to provide details about what might have prompted the crash.

Earlier Monday evening, police said in a statement that extensive inquiries were being made “to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision,” and asked people “not to share distressing content online.”

At the late-night news conference, Liam Robinson, a member of the Liverpool City Council, said the episode had “cast a very dark shadow on what’s been a joyous day for the city,” and pledged to provide more information when “it’s appropriate to do so.”

Police and fire officials were already on the parade route when the vehicle plowed through the crowd around 6 p.m. local time.