LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom – A driver who ploughed his car into crowds celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League victory in a fit of road rage was sentenced Tuesday to 21 years and six months in prison for what a judge called “horror and devastation” on the city’s streets.
Paul Doyle, 54, sobbed openly in Liverpool Crown Court as victim impact statements detailed permanent injuries, trauma and nightmares suffered by those he struck during the 26 May rampage.
“What should have been a day of communal celebration has been instead left as a lasting legacy of fear, injury and loss across this community,” Judge Andrew Menary told the defendant. “Your actions caused horror and devastation on a scale not previously encountered by this court.”
134 injured in 7-minute rampage
Doyle used his two-tonne Ford Galaxy as a weapon, injuring 134 people over seven minutes as he drove through crowds celebrating Liverpool’s record-equalling 20th English top-flight title, prosecutor Paul Greaney told the court Monday.
Shocking dashcam footage showed Doyle aggressively honking, shouting and swearing at crowds to move before driving into them at speed.
“You struck people head-on, knocked others onto the bonnet, drove over limbs, crushed prams and forced those nearby to scatter in terror,” Menary said. “You ploughed on at speed and over a considerable distance, violently knocking people aside or simply driving over them — person, after person, after person.”
The judge concluded there “was no reason other than impatience and arrogance.”
Baby thrown from pram
Doyle’s victims ranged from six months to 77 years old. His youngest victim was a baby flung from a pram but miraculously unhurt. Fifty people required hospital treatment, according to Merseyside Police.
After hitting initial victims, Doyle continued down another street, striking more people and even reversing to collide with others and an ambulance. The car only stopped when several people, including children, became trapped beneath it and a pedestrian jumped inside to shift the gear into park.
“You had repeated opportunities to stop but you chose instead to continue regardless,” the judge said.
Guilty on all counts
Doyle pleaded guilty last month to 31 criminal charges, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray and dangerous driving. He had initially denied the charges, planning to argue he panicked, but changed his plea on the second day of his November trial.
The married father of three had left his Liverpool suburban home to collect a friend who was among hundreds of thousands celebrating the football victory.
Prosecutor Greaney said Doyle “just lost his temper in his desire to get to where he wanted to get to.”
History of violence
While described by the prosecution as a “family man” whose friends and neighbors praised his kindness, Doyle had shown violent tendencies in his 20s. He was jailed for 12 months for biting off someone’s ear in a drunken brawl.
Doyle briefly served in the Royal Marines after school before working in IT and cyber security. He was discharged from the Marines after less than two years at age 19.
Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald of Merseyside Police called the dashcam footage “the most distressing and graphic” he had seen in his 20-year career.
“It’s really difficult to comprehend how somebody can just drive over people in a fit of rage to get to where he wants to get to,” Fitzgerald told AFP.
Police quickly determined the incident was not terrorism.
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