Driver in Liverpool soccer parade ramming handed 21-year prison sentence
Paul Doyle will spend over 21 years behind bars after ramming his mini-van into crowds in the British city of Liverpool. (Supplied: Merseyside Police)
In short:
Paul Doyle, the driver of a car which ploughed into a crowd in Liverpool in May this year injuring more than 130 people, has been sentenced to 21.5 years in prison.
Victims say they have been left physically and emotionally scarred by the attack.
Doyle pleaded guilty last month to 31 charges. The judge labelled footage of the attack "truly shocking".
A driver who injured more than 130 people when he ploughed his car into a crowd of soccer fans celebrating Liverpool's Premier League championship was sentenced to over 20 years in prison Tuesday.
Paul Doyle rammed his mini-van through a sea of fans on May 26 and halted after a bystander got in the vehicle and forced it into park. It came to a stop atop bodies.
"The footage is truly shocking," Judge Andrew Menary said as he sentenced Doyle in Liverpool Crown Court.
"It is difficult if not impossible to convey in words alone the scenes of devastation you caused.
"It shows you deliberately accelerating into groups of fans, time and time again."
The ramming took place as Liverpool fans crowded streets to catch a glimpse of their victorious team. (AP: Jon Super)
Doyle, a former Royal Marine, sobbed during the two-day sentencing as prosecutors detailed the crime, using graphic video footage and reading emotional statements from dozens of victims.
Doyle, 54, pleaded guilty last month to 31 counts, including dangerous driving and multiple counts of attempting or causing grievous bodily harm and intentional wounding.
'Anger had completely taken hold of' attacker, prosecution says
Prosecutors said Doyle used his vehicle as a weapon to ram through the sea of people walking toward him following the victory parade.
More than a million people had attended the open-top bus parade through Liverpool's streets, the prosecution said.
People who scrambled for safety said they feared a terror attack was unfolding.
The parade was celebrating Liverpool FC's 2024/25 season Premier League title win. (Reuters: Phil Noble)
But the explanation was "as simple as the consequences were awful," prosecutor Paul Greaney said. Doyle flew into a fury because he couldn't get where he was going fast enough to pick up a family friend who had attended the parade.
"He was a man in a rage, whose anger had completely taken hold of him," Mr Greaney said.
The judge dismissed Doyle's explanation of having panicked as "demonstrably untrue".
When Doyle was placed in a police van, he told officers "I've just ruined my family's life," Mr Greaney told the court.
Victims tell of emotional, physical scars
The impact of Doyle's attack was far broader than just his family.
During sentencing, a prosecutor spent hours reading out the statements of victims, some still nursing injuries.
A 16-year-old boy said he was frequently awakened by nightmares about the event and had lost his apprenticeship as a woodworker because he could not concentrate.
A 23-year-old man said they had to learn how to walk again, while a woman not from the area said the Liverpool accent now triggered anxiety.
Another woman whose daughter had been a devoted Liverpool fan could no longer watch its matches.
"The sight of red shirts and the sounds of chants are unbearable reminders of that day," Susan Farrell said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian woman Anna Bilonozhenko, who fled Russia's invasion and moved to the UK in 2024, said the attack made her feel like she was "losing our safety all over again".
AP/Reuters