Man receives 21-year sentence for ramming car into Liverpool parade crowd
Paul Doyle, who drove his car into a crowd of FC Liverpool supporters during a victory parade, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison. The attack, which lasted roughly two minutes, injured 134 people aged from six months to 77 years, with over 50 requiring hospitalization, during the May 26 event in Merseyside, England.
Doyle pleaded guilty in November to multiple charges, including 17 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, three counts of wounding, and one count each of dangerous driving and affray. Judge Andrew Menary described Doyle’s actions as causing “horror and devastation on a scale not previously experienced by this court,” noting that he struck victims head-on, knocked others onto the car, crushed prams, and forced crowds to scatter in terror.
Prosecutors said the parade, attended by about a million people, had been intended as a day of celebration. Doyle, a former Royal Marine, claimed to have acted in “blind panic” after seeing a fan with a knife, but investigators disproved this, citing dashcam footage in which Doyle can be heard angrily targeting people. The judge said the video showed “an inexplicable and undiluted fury” rather than fear. Doyle only stopped when former soldier Dan Barr climbed into the back seat and shifted the car into Park while Doyle kept his foot on the accelerator.
After his arrest, Doyle reportedly said, “I've just ruined my family's life.” Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald said Doyle’s actions displayed “no regard for the safety and well-being of other people” and emphasized that no sentence could undo the physical and psychological trauma inflicted on the victims. Doyle’s lawyer, Simon Csoska, said his client was “horrified by what he did” and “deeply sorry for all those who were hurt and suffered,” accepting full responsibility for his actions.
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