A former soldier from Merseyside has been hailed as a hero for his decisive actions during a terrifying incident at the Liverpool Football Club victory parade. Dan Barr, 41, from Birkenhead, climbed into a moving vehicle to halt a driver who had ploughed into crowds of pedestrians.
A split-second decision to act
Recounting the events of that day, Barr described seeing a clear opportunity as the car came to a momentary stop. He was just five paces away. With other people desperately trying to reach the vehicle, he ran to the window intending to smash it, assuming the doors were locked.
At the final moment, he tried the handle and it opened. He crawled into the back seat just as the driver, Paul Doyle, accelerated, causing the door to slam shut behind him. Barr recalls a stark change in noise, from the screaming and panic outside to an eerie near-silence inside the car.
The struggle to stop the vehicle
Inside the car, Barr's military training and instinct took over. He vividly remembers the horrifying sensation of the vehicle moving through people with no resistance. His immediate focus was finding a way to stop the driver.
"I can see all the horrendous things going on. You can feel people. You can feel them going over," he said. He looked for the keys or any means to intervene, considering grabbing the wheel or applying the handbrake.
Then he spotted the automatic gear selector. Reaching from the back seat, he pushed it as hard as he could into the 'Park' position, bringing the car to an abrupt halt. Despite Doyle continuing to rev the engine, Barr kept his hand firmly on the gear stick, preventing any movement.
Securing the scene and aftermath
With the car immobilised, Barr used his right hand to release the driver's seatbelt. As soon as the button was pressed, Doyle was seized by the crowd that had surrounded the vehicle. Barr's initial concern, amid the chaos, was that he might be mistaken for an accomplice and attacked.
After exiting the car, he walked up the street, observing casualties who were already being assisted. He then found his brother, quickly explained what had happened, and went for a pint in a state of shock. Reflecting on his actions, the former soldier downplayed any notion of special bravery.
"If you could somehow find the truth off most of the men I saw on that street, they were all trying to do the same thing," Barr stated. "Not like 'hero' or 'brave'. It's standard that you do what you can. I don't think it's anything special. I know it sounds mad. It hasn't sunk in – maybe it never will."
He added that if the driver had been a terrorist with a bomb, he would already have been dead, so his mindset was simply to "get amongst it" and try to alter the situation. His swift and courageous actions undoubtedly prevented further injuries during the Liverpool parade incident.
