Dad and daughter's 'lucky' escape moments from liverpool parade crash horror

STEVE BADGER AND HIS 14-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER HAD TRAVELLED TO THE CITY TO WATCH THE REDS CELEBRATE THEIR PREMIER LEAGUE VICTORY NAOMI CORRIGAN Multi-media Journalist 15:52, 27 May 2025Updated

15:53, 27 May 2025 A North East dad recounted the close shave he and his daughter experienced with the Liverpool victory parade incident, potentially crossing paths with tragedy without

realising as events took a horrific turn. Steve Badger, 41, a devoted follower of Liverpool FC, made the journey to the city alongside his 14 year old daughter, Georgia, to join in the

celebrations of the club’s Premier League triumph. The dad of four had filmed the festivities from the junction of Water Street and The Strand, near the iconic Liver Building, prior to their

departure down Water Street. Surrounded by numerous family groups on the street, Steve recalled that they were halfway when he noticed police officers sprinting by. With sirens wailing and

chaos ensuing, they remained unaware of the serious incident until later hearing the distressing reports on the car radio upon their return. He said: "It still hasn't really sunk

in, it's quite hard to comprehend," stressing, "It's like, bl**dy hell, we were really lucky there." The dramatic turn from celebration to horror occurred shortly

after 6pm on Monday, following reports to the police of a vehicle striking pedestrians on Water Street, reports Teesside Live. Steve, who works as a self-employed plumber, along with his

daughter, who is enrolled at St Patrick's Catholic College, had set off early that day for Liverpool, first enjoying a spell at Anfield before migrating to the city centre for the

festivities. Among the revellers, Steve noticed many young children, some appearing to be around nine or ten, mingling within the Water Street crowds. "The atmosphere had been brilliant

all day - there was no trouble at all, everybody was singing," he remarked. "Some people were drinking but there was no trouble at all, it was just really busy. After the bus went

past we walked up Water Street. ChronicleLive has created a dedicated WhatsApp community for breaking news and our biggest stories. You can JOIN THIS WHATSAPP COMMUNITY HERE. It will keep

you up-to-date with news as it breaks and our top stories of the day sent directly to your phone. "We got about halfway past there and loads of police ran past us so I think we might

have walked past it without realising. We were walking on the right hand side of the pavement walking up so we might have walked past it as the car was there. We heard sirens and the police

van couldn't get any further. "Then about three or four policemen ran past us down the street shouting 'people, get out the way'. You could hear a bit of commotion and

bottles smashing - I thought there must have been a fight or something." Having made their way back to the car, Steve, from Thornaby, Teesside, began picking up news of the incident

over the radio. His phone was inundated with texts from mates and an unanswered call from his spouse Amy, who is 40. "I didn't know exactly what had happened until we got home and

I saw the videos and thought, 'bloody hell, we were really lucky," he disclosed. "I was quite shocked how close we were to it. If we had been there five minutes prior."

Steve, father to three more; Blake, aged nine, seven year old Gracie, and Bobbie, who's five, shared that Georgia cheers for Liverpool and has a fondness for Middlesbrough too. She was

equally stunned by their proximity to the mayhem of the crash site. Article continues below Barriers had been set up encircling the vicinity from the morning, he explained. "I've

seen a couple of videos online and it's quite hard to understand how the car could get down that way because there was a barrier in the way there," he remarked. "We were down

there from early on and all the streets were barriered off. We got some dinner and went down about 2pm and it was really busy. "So when people started walking back up, I don't know

if they've moved the barriers or what, but it's quite hard to understand how a car could have got down there. There was that many people you wouldn't try to drive down

there." The North West Ambulance Service reported that 27 individuals were conveyed to hospital and 20 received treatment on-site, with four children among those injured. Two of the

hospitalised, including one child, sustained serious injuries. Following the event, a 53 year old man was apprehended. The police have stated that they do not consider the incident as

"terror-related".