Liverpool Parade Attacker Sentenced to Over 21 Years for Injuring 134 People in Road Rage Incident

United Kingdom:

A motorist who drove into crowds celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title in a road rage incident has been sentenced to 21 years and six months imprisonment for causing what the judge described as "horror and devastation" on the city's streets.

Paul Doyle, aged 54, wept in court as victim statements were presented, describing permanent injuries, scarring, nightmares, and trauma experienced by those affected.

Judge Andrew Menary told Doyle: "What should have been a day of communal celebration has instead left a lasting legacy of fear, injury and loss across this community. Your actions caused horror and devastation on a scale not previously encountered by this court."

Disturbing dashcam footage shown during the two-day sentencing hearing captured Doyle aggressively honking his horn, shouting, and swearing at crowds to clear his path.

"You struck people head-on, knocked others onto the bonnet, drove over limbs, crushed prams and forced those nearby to scatter in terror," stated Judge Menary. "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" for Doyle's actions.

Last month, Doyle pleaded guilty to 31 criminal charges, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray, and dangerous driving.

Prosecuting lawyer Paul Greaney told Liverpool Crown Court that Doyle used his two-tonne vehicle as a weapon, injuring 134 people in less than 10 minutes. "Paul Doyle just lost his temper in his desire to get to where he wanted to get to," Greaney explained.

Doyle had initially denied the charges, with prosecutors indicating he planned to argue he drove into crowds after panicking. However, he unexpectedly changed his plea on the second day of his November trial, admitting to all 31 counts relating to 29 victims aged between six months and 77 years old.

A married father of three, Doyle left his Liverpool suburban home on May 26 in his Ford Galaxy Titanium to collect a friend who was among hundreds of thousands celebrating Liverpool's record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.

Instead, over seven minutes, Doyle drove his vehicle seemingly indiscriminately into pedestrians, some of whom were thrown onto the car's bonnet. Though no fatalities occurred, 50 people required hospital treatment according to Merseyside Police.

His youngest victim, a six-month-old baby thrown from a pram, was remarkably uninjured. Police quickly confirmed the incident was not terrorism-related.

After hitting initial victims, Doyle continued down another street striking more people, at one point reversing and colliding with others as well as an ambulance.

"You had repeated opportunities to stop but you chose instead to continue regardless," Judge Menary noted.

The car finally stopped after several people including children became trapped beneath it when a pedestrian jumped inside and shifted the gear into park.

Doyle, who joined the Royal Marines briefly after school and later worked in IT and cybersecurity, was described by the prosecution as a "family man." Friends and neighbors wrote to the court attesting to his kindness and generosity.

However, in his twenties, Doyle had displayed signs of a temper, once biting off someone's ear in a drunken altercation, resulting in a 12-month jail sentence. He had been discharged from the Marines after less than two years of service that began when he was 19.

Merseyside Police Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald described the May dashcam footage as "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.