Driver Breaks Down in Court and Pleads Guilty After Deliberately Driving Into Liverpool Title Parade Crowd

Paul Doyle, 54, sobbed in court as he dramatically changed his plea and admitted deliberately driving his car into crowds leaving Liverpool's Premier League victory parade on May 26. He pleaded guilty to 31 criminal charges, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray and dangerous driving.

Key details

The incident injured 134 people, ranging from infants to people in their late 70s; 50 victims required hospital treatment. Doyle has been held in custody since his arrest and will remain in prison ahead of sentencing, which Judge Andrew Menary has scheduled over two days beginning December 15. The judge warned Doyle to expect "a custodial sentence of some length," noting that the most serious offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

What prosecutors say

Prosecutors say dash-cam footage from Doyle's nearly two-tonne Ford Galaxy Titanium shows him becoming increasingly agitated by the crowds and deliberately forcing his way through rather than waiting for them to pass. Sarah Hammond, the Crown Prosecution Service regional lead prosecutor, described the action as "an act of calculated violence" and said it was a choice, not a momentary lapse.

According to the prosecution, Doyle drove into the city centre to pick up friends after the parade and made dangerous manoeuvres within minutes of leaving home. After hitting the first victims he continued down another street, struck more people, reversed and collided with others and an ambulance, and later ploughed into a pram. Six-month-old toddler Teddy Eveson was flung from the pram but was unhurt.

How the vehicle was stopped

Witnesses and evidence presented by prosecutors say the car only came to a stop after several people, including children, became trapped beneath it. A member of the public climbed into the vehicle during the final 16 seconds and pushed the automatic transmission into park, helping to halt the car.

Charges and planned defence

Doyle was initially charged with seven offences; prosecutors later added 24 more counts in August, bringing the total to 31 charges relating to 29 victims, eight of whom were children at the time. Prosecutors had expected to show that Doyle repeatedly swore and sounded his horn at pedestrians as he grew angrier. Defence indications suggested Doyle had planned to argue he panicked and feared for his life after some windows of the car were smashed as the crowd turned hostile, but he ultimately pleaded guilty.

Reactions

Merseyside Police Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald described the scenes as "hard to forget," saying it was "only by sheer luck that nobody was killed because of Doyle's reckless actions." A spokesperson for Liverpool Football Club said they hoped the guilty plea would bring some peace to those affected and paid tribute to emergency services and members of the public whose actions helped save lives.