A driver who plowed his car through more than 100 people celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title win is facing sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court. Paul Doyle, 54, used his Ford Galaxy as a "weapon" during a two-minute rampage on May 26, injuring 29 victims aged between six months and 77 years. The court is now determining his sentence after he pleaded guilty to 31 offenses.
Doyle drove into crowds between 5:59 PM and 6:01 PM in what prosecutor Paul Greaney KC described as a rage-fueled attack. «The prosecution case is that the defendant had used the vehicle as a weapon over that period of time. In doing so, he not only caused injury on a large scale, but he also generated horror in those who had attended what they had thought would be a day of joyfulness,» Greaney told the court.
The 54-year-old pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, affray, 17 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, nine counts of causing GBH with intent, and three counts of wounding with intent. The sentencing hearing began on Monday and is due to conclude on Tuesday.
Youngest Victim and Scale of Trauma
The youngest victim was six-month-old Teddy Eveson, who was thrown about 15 feet in his pram during the incident. Five other children were among those injured or targeted, but cannot be named for legal reasons.
Prosecutor Philip Astbury read victim impact statements detailing «flashbacks» and «emotional and psychological injury» suffered by those affected. Children as young as 12 described how what should have been the «best day ever» turned into trauma.
Rage and Remorse
The court was told Doyle was «in a rage» and his «anger had completely taken hold of him.» Dashcam footage shown repeatedly in court captured him shouting «move,» «f****** pricks,» and «get out the f****** way» as his nearly two-tonne vehicle collided with people.
Greaney said: «In a rage, he drove into the crowd, and when he did so, he intended to cause people within the crowd serious harm. He was prepared to cause those in the crowd, even children, serious harm if necessary to achieve his aim of getting through.»
Doyle was arrested on Water Street just after 6 PM on May 26. In the back of a police van, he told officers: «I've just ruined my family's life.» He wept and sobbed during Monday's proceedings.
The Croxteth resident, described by prosecutors as a «family man,» had been in the city to collect a friend and his family from the celebrations. He initially denied the offenses before pleading guilty last month.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
