LONDON (AP) — A driver accused of injuring more than 100 people by ramming his car into a crowd of soccer fans celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League championship dramatically changed his plea to guilty as his trial got underway on Wednesday.

Paul Doyle, 54, sobbed as he admitted dangerous driving and multiple counts of attempting or causing grievous bodily harm and three counts of wounding with intent.

He had previously denied the charges, which relate to 29 victims aged between six months and 77 years old and carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Doyle will be sentenced at a later date.

More than 130 people reported injuries after a Ford minivan plowed into a street packed full of joyous fans celebrating Liverpool’s soccer team winning the Premier League title on May 26. Police said they believed the driver acted alone, and that they did not suspect terrorism, but have not disclosed an alleged motive.

Doyle wept in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday as potential jurors were brought into the packed courtroom to be selected.

Prosecutors had been due to make their opening statement Wednesday at the start of what was slated to be a monthlong trial.

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — A 53-year-old British man who injured 65 people when his car rammed into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans celebrating their team’s Premier League championship was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said Tuesday.

The driver was also being held on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving on drugs, Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Jaundrill said.

The incident late Monday afternoon turned a jubilant parade into a tragedy that sent 50 people to hospitals for treatment of their injuries. Eleven remained hospitalized Tuesday in stable condition.

The wounded included four children, one of whom had been trapped beneath the vehicle with three adults.

Police had closed off much of the area to traffic, but the driver is believed to have maneuvered around a road block by following an ambulance that was rushing to treat a person suspected of having a heart attack, Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said.

Merseyside Police said they were not treating the incident as terrorism and were not looking for other suspects. The force has not identified the arrested driver. Police in Britain usually do not name suspects until they are charged.

Detectives were still working to piece together why the minivan plowed into crowds packing a narrow street just after the players of Liverpool Football Club had celebrated its championship with an open-topped bus parade.

The incident cast a shadow over a city that has suffered twin tragedies linked to the soccer team and led to widespread expressions of shock, sadness and support.

“It is truly devastating to see that what should have been a joyous celebration for many could end in such distressing circumstances,” King Charles III said in a statement while on a visit to Canada. “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”

Water Street, near the River Mersey in the heart of the city, was cordoned off by police tape, and a blue tent had been erected on the road strewn with the detritus of celebration, including bottles, cans and Liverpool flags.

Teams of officers wearing white forensic suits scoured the damp streets for evidence and snapped photos of clothing and other items left behind as people fled the chaotic scene.

Hundreds of thousands of Liverpudlians had crammed the streets of the port city in northwest England on Monday to celebrate the team winning England’s Premier League this season for a record-tying 20th top-flight title.

As the parade was wrapping up, a minivan turned down a cordoned-off street just off the parade route and plowed into the sea of fans wrapped in their red Liverpool scarves, jerseys and other memorabilia. A video on social media showed the van strike a man, tossing him in the air, before veering into a larger crowd, where it plowed a path through the group and pushed bodies along the street before coming to a stop.

“It was extremely fast,” said Harry Rashid, who was with his wife and two young daughters as the minivan passed by them. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”

Rashid said the crowd charged the halted vehicle and began smashing windows.

“But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid said. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”

Police quickly identified the suspect as a white local man to prevent misinformation from flooding social media, Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said.

Rotheram said police acted appropriately to tamp down online speculation about the person responsible as false rumors spread rapidly online of there being another incident.

“Social media is a cesspit,” he said, referring to the conjecture and misinformation. “It was designed to inflame. It was designed to divide. The message of hate doesn’t go down well here.”

Last summer, a teen in the nearby town of Southport killed three girls in a stabbing rampage at a dance class and wounded 10 others, including two adults. An incorrect name of the suspect was spread on social media and people said he was an asylum-seeker. In fact, he had been born in the U.K. Rioting spread across England and Northern Ireland, targeting Muslims and refugees in hotels for asylum-seekers, lasting about a week.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the tragedy as he hailed the bravery of rescuers and said the country’s thoughts were with the city and its people.

“Scenes of joy turned to utter horror and devastation,” Starmer said Tuesday. “Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with Liverpool.”

The storied franchise has been associated with two of the biggest tragedies in professional soccer.

Its fans were largely blamed for the 1985 disaster at Heysel stadium in Belgium when 39 people — mostly supporters of Italian team Juventus — died when Liverpool backers surged into the rival’s stand.

Four years later, a crush at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

Melley reported from London. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – Four people were “very, very ill in hospital” after a car plowed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a Premier League title parade, the city’s mayor said on Tuesday, adding that he hoped they would “pull through.”

British police believe the incident, in a packed Liverpool city centre on Monday, was isolated and not an act of terrorism, but have not said why or how a man was able to drive at crowds celebrating in the streets on Monday evening.

Videos posted online showed a gray people-carrier driving through a crowded street that was closed to cars, sending several flying into the air and dragging at least four under its wheels.

When the car stopped, angry fans converged on it and began smashing the windows as police officers battled to prevent them from reaching the driver.

Police said late on Monday that 20 people were treated at the scene and 27 were taken to hospital, including children.

Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram told the BBC there were “still four people who are very, very ill in hospital.”

“We are hoping of course that they pull through.”

With most people off work for the Spring Bank Holiday, officials estimated that around one million people descended on the 10-mile parade route to watch the Liverpool team and its staff travel through the city centre on an open-top bus with the Premier League trophy.

Liverpool last won the league during the COVID pandemic when celebrations were not permitted due to lockdowns.

Police said the car hit the spectators as the event was winding down. In the aftermath, a Reuters photographer saw emergency services carrying victims on stretchers and in their arms to nearby ambulances.

Police were unusually quick to provide a description of the man they arrested, saying around two hours after the incident that they had arrested a “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area.”

Former police officers and local politicians said that statement was needed to cool social media speculation that the episode was an Islamist attack.

“That was one of my first concerns, that we needed to get the story out quickly,” mayor Rotheram told the BBC.

“If there’s a vacuum, we know there are some elements that will try to inflame the situation and to create that speculation and to put misinformation out there.”

The same police force oversaw the response to the murder of three young girls in the nearby town of Southport last year, an incident which sparked days of rioting, fueled initially by speculation online over the identity of the attacker.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer thanked the emergency services for their swift response, saying: “Everyone, especially children, should be able to celebrate their heroes without this horror”.

(Writing by Kate Holton: additional reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in LONDON; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

LIVERPOOL, England, May 26 (Reuters) – A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a parade celebrating their side’s Premier League soccer title on Monday, hospitalising 27 people, with two seriously injured, but police said they did not believe the incident was terrorism-related.

Police said they had arrested a “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area,” whom they believed to be the driver of the vehicle which struck a large group of supporters who were celebrating in the city in northwest England.

Twenty people were treated at the scene. Ambulance officials said of the 27 taken to hospital, four were children. One child and one adult were in a serious condition. Four people trapped under the vehicle had to be released by fire fighters.

Videos on social media showed people thrown into the air as the car rammed into spectators.

When the car stopped, angry fans converged on it and began smashing the windows as police officers intervened to prevent them from reaching the driver.

“We believe this to be an isolated incident, and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it. The incident is not being treated as terrorism,” temporary Deputy Chief Constable Jenny Sims told reporters.

With most people off work for the Spring Bank Holiday, hundreds of thousands of fans gathered to watch the Liverpool team and its staff travel through the city centre on an open-top bus with the Premier League trophy.

The incident “cast a very dark shadow over what had been a joyous day,” Liverpool city council leader Liam Robinson said on social media.

In the aftermath, a Reuters photographer saw emergency services carrying victims on stretchers to ambulances and debris scattered on the road.

Police were unusually quick to give a description of the man they arrested.

Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent in London’s Metropolitan Police, told the BBC this was an effort to cool social media speculation that the episode was an Islamist attack.

The same police force oversaw the response to the murder of three young girls in the nearby town of Southport last year, an incident which sparked days of rioting, sparked by speculation online over the identity of the attacker.

An eyewitness to Monday’s incident who gave her name as Chelsea told BBC Radio that people packed onto the street were only alerted to the danger by screams from the crowd. That enabled some to jump out of the way as the driver showed no sign of slowing.

“With the commotion, that was the only reason we looked up, and thankfully, looked up and managed to jump out (of) the way in time,” the woman said.

A Reuters witness said that before the incident, there was disorder in the city centre where the parade was due to pass, with overcrowding and spectators confused by a lack of signage about street closures or where they should go.

Liverpool last won the trophy during the COVID pandemic when celebrations were not permitted due to lockdowns.

Politicians in Britain and in Ireland, where the club is popular, thanked emergency services.

“My thoughts are with all those injured or affected,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X, calling the scenes “appalling,” and saying that he was being updated about the events.

The team said on X it was in direct contact with police. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident,” Liverpool FC said.

(Reporting by Phil Noble, Sam Tobin and Muvija M; writing by Kate Holton; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Christian Radnedge, Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler)