Liverpool Parade Crash: Man Who Drove Into Fans to Be Sentenced

The sentencing hearing of a British man who drove his car into crowds celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title, injuring more than 100 people, begins on Monday at Liverpool Crown Court.

Paul Doyle, 54, who has been in custody since his arrest at the scene, dramatically changed his plea during his trial in November, breaking down in court and admitting that he deliberately drove into fans gathered in Liverpool city centre in May.

Doyle will be sentenced over two days, Monday and Tuesday, after pleading guilty last month to 31 criminal charges, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray and dangerous driving.

Judge Andrew Menary warned him to expect “a custodial sentence of some length,” noting that the most serious offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Initially, Doyle had denied all charges, with prosecutors saying he intended to argue that he panicked while driving through the crowds. However, on the second day of his trial, he made a sudden U-turn and admitted guilt on all counts, which relate to 29 victims aged between six months and 77 years.

On May 26, Doyle left his family home in a Liverpool suburb in his Ford Galaxy Titanium, saying he was going to collect a friend who had joined hundreds of thousands of supporters celebrating Liverpool’s record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.

Instead, in what prosecutors described as an extreme case of road rage, Doyle spent about seven minutes driving his nearly two-tonne vehicle into pedestrians, some of whom were thrown onto the bonnet. Merseyside Police said 134 people were injured, 50 of whom required hospital treatment, although no fatalities were recorded.

Police quickly ruled out terrorism.

The youngest victim was a six-month-old baby who was thrown from a pram but escaped injury. Prosecutors said Doyle continued driving after hitting the first group of victims, striking more people on another street, reversing at one point and colliding with others, including an ambulance.

“This was not a momentary lapse by Paul Doyle — it was a choice he made that day and it turned celebration into mayhem,” said Sarah Hammond of the Crown Prosecution Service after the guilty pleas.

The car eventually stopped after several people, including children, became trapped underneath it, and a pedestrian jumped inside the vehicle and forced it into park.

Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald of Merseyside Police described the incident as unforgettable. “It was only by sheer luck that nobody was killed because of Doyle’s reckless actions,” he said.

Media reports said Doyle briefly joined the Royal Marines after school and later worked in IT and cyber security. Neighbours described him as a well-liked family man with an interest in fitness. He was also registered as the owner of a headwear business, FarOut Caps, and had used the company’s social media account to post about cryptocurrency and video games.

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