A driver who unleashed road rage horror on fans celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League victory, injuring over 100 people when he ploughed into them with his car, broke down Monday at his sentencing hearing.
Paul Doyle wiped away tears as prosecutors relayed how the 54-year-old lost his temper and drove into the crowds.
His rampage “generated horror in those who had attended what they thought would be a day of joyfulness,” the prosecution said.
Doyle dramatically changed his plea on the second day of his trial in November, admitting to deliberately driving his car through the crowds in Liverpool city centre in May.
“The defendant had used the vehicle as a weapon,” injuring 134 people over the course of less than 10 minutes as he lost his temper, prosecuting lawyer Paul Greaney told Liverpool Crown Court as the two-day sentencing hearing opened.
“Paul Doyle just lost his temper in his desire to get to where he wanted to get to. In a rage he drove into the crowd, and when he did so, he intended to cause people within the crowd serious harm,” Greaney told the court.
Doyle pleaded guilty to 31 criminal charges last month, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray and dangerous driving.
Judge Andrew Menary told Doyle to prepare for “a custodial sentence of some length”.
The maximum sentence for the most serious offences is life imprisonment.
– ‘Serious harm’ –
Doyle left the cul-de-sac where he lived with his family in a Liverpool suburb on May 26 in his grey Ford Galaxy Titanium.
He was due to collect his friend who had joined the hundreds of thousands of fans celebrating Liverpool’s victory in claiming a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
In what the prosecution said appeared to be an extreme case of road rage, over the course of seven minutes, Doyle instead drove his nearly two-tonne vehicle seemingly indiscriminately into pedestrians.
Some 50 people required hospital treatment, according to Merseyside Police.
Dashcam footage from his car played in court showed Doyle getting increasingly angry as he drove his vehicle through his crowd, hurling insults and screaming as he veered directly into people.
The harrowing clip showed pedestrians thrown against the car’s bonnet and others getting stuck under the vehicle, amid cries of horror.
The footage, which will not be released to the public because of its graphic nature, showed the car’s windscreen smash after a man landed on it.
“He was prepared to cause those in the crowd, even children, serious harm if necessary to achieve his aim of getting through,” Greaney said.
Doyle’s youngest victim was a six-month-old baby who was flung from his pram, but was miraculously unhurt.
– PTSD, anxiety –
In statements submitted to the court, victims described experiencing physical and psychological harm, with some suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety in crowded spaces, according to prosecutors.
Police swiftly declared that the incident was not terrorism, and it was later clarified that Doyle was “completely sober”.
Doyle had previously denied the criminal charges against him, telling officers he drove in a blind panic after feeling threatened by the crowds.
But he made the unexpected U-turn on the second day of his trial, pleading guilty to each of the 31 counts, which relate to 29 victims aged between six months and 77 years old.
Doyle briefly joined the Royal Marines after school, according to media reports, later working in IT and cyber security.
The prosecution described him as a “family man”, and people who knew him told UK media he was interested in fitness and well-liked by his neighbours.
He was registered as the owner of a headwear business, FarOut Caps, and appeared to use the company’s social media account to post about cryptocurrency and video games.
Footage from the police van after his arrest shows Doyle saying: “I’ve just ruined my family’s life.”
AFP