The driver who plowed through crowds at Liverpool’s victory parade, injuring 134 supporters, has been jailed for 21 years and six months.
Paul Doyle, 54, was traveling into the city center to collect friends on May 26 when he “lost his temper” and drove his Ford Galaxy directly into supporters making their way home from the Premier League title celebrations.
Dashcam footage from the vehicle, played in court, showed the shocking moments when fans were thrown onto the hood of the car or fell underneath as he accelerated down Water Street, which had been closed to traffic, at about 6 p.m.
Doyle, who could be heard in the footage swearing and shouting at supporters to move, had initially denied 31 offenses he was charged with.
But on Nov. 26, moments before the prosecution was due to open his trial, he changed his pleas to admit all the charges.
The former Royal Marine cried as he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, affray, 17 charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, nine counts of causing GBH with intent and three counts of wounding with intent.
The 29 victims named in the indictment ranged in age from 6-month-old Teddy Eveson, whose pram was thrown in the air in the crash, and 77-year-old Susan Passey.
At sentencing, judge Andrew Menary KC told the defendant he acted in an “inexplicable and undiluted fury” when he plowed into crowds.
He told Doyle: “It is almost impossible to comprehend how any right-thinking person could act as you did.
“To drive a vehicle into crowds of pedestrians with such persistence and disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding.”
The judge added: “Your actions caused horror and devastation on a scale not previously encountered by this court.”
Shortly before passing sentence, he said: “It is important to recognize that the offenses you have admitted were not the result of a momentary recklessness or a panicked reaction.
“The truth, as captured on your own dashcam, is that you lost your temper in a rage, determined to force your way through the crowd, regardless of the consequences.
“By your pleas of guilty, you admit that you intended to cause serious harm to achieve that end even to children.
“The offenses were committed during a major public celebration in the city of Liverpool, transforming an occasion of collective enjoyment, into one of fear and disruption and causing significant and lasting harm to the life and reputation of the city.”
Doyle had traveled to the city center from his home in Croxteth, Liverpool, to collect friends who had been at the parade.
During his drive into the city, he undertook other vehicles and ran a red light.
Footage showed the father of three driving down Dale Street, appearing not to slow down despite Liverpool fans filling the roads.
His dashcam footage captured him saying “f—ing p—ks” as people pulled their children out of the way to prevent him hitting them.
When he reached a line of cars turning right, away from Water Street which was closed to traffic, he paused before swerving into crowds filling the left lane.
People could be seen on the bonnet of his car and falling underneath as Doyle accelerated into the street.
His car was only brought to a stop when fan Dan Barr climbed into the back seat of the automatic vehicle and held the gearstick in park mode.
Doyle, who has previous convictions for violence in the 1990s, continued to try to accelerate but the car, which had people trapped underneath it by this point, was unable to move further.
When interviewed, he said he had seen someone with a knife and drove in panic for fear he would be attacked, but police found no evidence from CCTV or witnesses that anyone in the area had a knife.
No defects were found with the car and Doyle was not under the influence of drink or drugs.
James Allison, from the Crown Prosecution Service Mersey-Cheshire, said: “Why did he do it? I think the simple answer is he lost his temper. He went into a rage.
“He just wanted to get down that road, and in trying to get down that road those next couple of minutes probably devastated a lot of people’s lives.”
Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald said: “Doyle’s total disregard for the safety of others — particularly the many young children present on Dale Street and Water Street that day — is beyond comprehension.
“It is sheer luck that no lives were lost.”
