Former Marine who ploughed into Liverpool FC parade injuring 134 people including Shropshire dad's baby is jailed for more than 21 years
A former Marine who ploughed into Liverpool supporters celebrating their side's league success has been jailed for more than 21 years.
Paul Doyle, 54, injured 134 people in the shocking incident in May, where he drove through crowds of supporters in his Ford Galaxy.
Those hit by Doyle included the youngest victim named on the indictment, six-month-old Teddy Eveson, whose pram was thrown into the air in the crash.
Teddy's father, Dan Eveson, is from Telford.
The court had heard Teddy's mother, Sheree Aldridge, 37, said she and Mr Eveson had proudly dressed their six-month-old son in his Liverpool FC shirt that day and were "excited to share this moment” with him.
A harrowing statement told how she thought her son had been killed after the crash.
She said: “In that moment I thought I was going to die. I didn’t know where Dan and Teddy was.
“I felt an overwhelming pain in my leg and looked up to see Teddy’s pushchair on its side further up the road. I thought my Teddy was dead.
“I thought I was next. I thought my children would grow up without a mother.”
Doyle was travelling into the city centre 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 bonnet of the car or fell underneath as he accelerated down Water Street, which had been closed to traffic, at about 6pm.
Doyle, who could be heard in the footage swearing and shouting at supporters to “move”, had initially denied 31 offences he was charged with.
But last month, 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 six-month-old Teddy, whose pram was thrown in the air in the crash, to 77-year-old Susan Passey.
Doyle stared straight ahead, blinking, with no expression as the judge revealed his sentence.
There was no reaction from the defendant, who had sobbed for much of the two-day hearing, as he was taken down from the dock by prison officers.
Sentencing judge Andrew Menary KC told the defendant he acted in an “inexplicable and undiluted fury” when he ploughed 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.”
Doyle had travelled to the city centre 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****** pricks” 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, including biting a sailor’s ear off, 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.
Statements from 78 of Doyle’s victims were read to the court during the course of his sentencing hearing, with one woman telling him: “Don’t sit in the dock and cry for yourself.”
Mothers spoke of the horror of seeing their children being struck by the vehicle, with others telling the court of horrific flashbacks as well as their mental and physical suffering.
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.”
