UK authorities on Thursday charged a 53-year-old man with ramming a car into a crowd celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title earlier in the week.
The suspect, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, was charged with intentionally causing grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving and five other counts covering variations of causing grievous bodily harm.
He was arrested on Monday and has been remanded into custody to appear before the Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Seventy-nine people aged 9 to 78 were injured when the Ford Galaxy plowed into supporters as they celebrated their club’s record-equaling 20th English top-flight title. There were no fatalities.
Suspect facing life sentence
Prosecutor Sarah Hammond said the suspect would face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
Hammond said the agency had authorized police to charge the man following a “complex and ongoing investigation.”
“Prosecutors and police are continuing to work at pace to review a huge volume of evidence,” Hammond said.
“This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure every victim gets the justice they deserve.”
Car allegedly followed ambulance
Police previously said they believed that the suspect had dodged a roadblock by tailing an ambulance responding to a report of a person in cardiac arrest.
Although the suspect was also arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and driving under the influence of drugs, neither of those offenses were listed as charges.
The charges also did not indicate how many victims the counts were tied to, as Hammond said all charges “will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.”
With the investigation still at an early stage, police are continuing to review a large volume of evidence, including video evidence from the suspect’s car, body-worn camera footage from several police officers and eyewitness statements.
Suspect a former marine
British media reported the suspect was a businessman and a former marine who has three teenage children. Merseyside Police said the driver was believed to have acted alone and they did not suspect terrorism.
“I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions,” Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said during a short news conference.
“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism to seek the answer to all of those questions,” Sims said.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
