A man who was among the dozens injured when a car struck a crowd during Liverpool’s Premier League trophy parade has told Sky News how he pleaded with the driver to stop before he was hit and sent “spinning”.
Jack Trotter and his girlfriend Abbie Gallagher, both 22, had just met some other Liverpool fans and were taking videos when the Ford Galaxy quickly approached.
Ms Gallagher told Sky News’ communities correspondent Lisa Holland how she screamed “Jack, Jack” as the driver “rammed through everybody”.
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Mr Trotter, a father of one, said: “He rammed through the first set of people, but when it got to me, I put my hands up, telling him to stop, but also to protect myself.
“He just tried to run through me. I twisted, and he just caught my legs. I’m completely bedbound at the moment. I’m traumatised.”
Ms Gallagher was hit on the right side of the car, while Mr Trotter was struck on the left, but she managed to save herself by pushing herself off the bonnet.
She said: “Everything was mental. Everyone was crying. I was in hysterics. I couldn’t find him for at least five minutes.”
‘My back’s gone’
“I look around and there’s people in the air. I just freaked out. I was just trying to find Jack.
“Luckily enough, he heard me screaming. He came up and said, ‘I’m here’. We didn’t know what to say, we were just crying.”
Mr Trotter said his adrenaline “kicked in” and he got himself back up to reach his girlfriend.
He added that once he knew she was okay and the adrenaline wore off, he slumped against a wall, telling her that “my back’s gone”.
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As Ms Gallagher tried to help him up, a nearby man and woman came to help, and they carried him into a bar.
Those who helped – firefighters, paramedics, police and bar staff – were “amazing”, she said.
“They gave us a hug when we needed it because everyone was crying,” she added.
“They had to call for an ambulance to come. They gave Jack gas and air to try and ease the pain and other meds for painkillers. They got him onto a bed. He was crying and screaming.”
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‘We are in shock still’
Ms Gallagher added: “The hospital was amazing. The doctors made us laugh, tried to ease what happened. We rang my family and his family. We are just in shock still.
“We will be scared by the experience. It’s not something you ever expect. It’s just heartbreaking,” she said.
Mr Trotter, who is one of more than 50 people who were injured in the incident, said his “legs are ok”, but his back had “completely gone”.
He said: “At the moment, I’m just in absolute agony. It was just a traumatic experience.”
Read more from Sky News:
What we know after dozens injured in Liverpool
How the Liverpool FC parade crash unfolded
Why police released ‘unprecedented’ details
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Eleven people remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Merseyside Police have arrested a 53-year-old white British man on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving, and driving while unfit through drugs.
Officers believe the suspect drove to the scene by following an ambulance, which was responding to a heart attack.
