LONDON: A driver who unleashed road rage horror on fans celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League victory, injuring over 100 people by plowing 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 during his trial in November, admitting to deliberately driving his car through the crowds in Liverpool city center 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 offenses is life imprisonment.
Doyle had previously denied the criminal charges against him, and prosecutors said he had planned to contest them by arguing that he drove into crowds after panicking.
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 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.
- ‘Serious harm’ -
In what appears to be an extreme case of road rage, over the course of seven minutes, Doyle instead drove his nearly two-ton vehicle seemingly indiscriminately into pedestrians.
“He was prepared to cause those in the crowd, even children, serious harm if necessary to achieve his aim of getting through,” Greaney said.
Some 50 people required hospital treatment, according to Merseyside Police.
Doyle’s youngest victim was a six-month-old baby who was flung from his pram, but was miraculously unhurt.
Police swiftly declared that the incident was not terrorism, and it was later clarified that Doyle was “completely sober.”
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 car eventually stopped after several people including children became trapped beneath it and a pedestrian jumped inside for the final 16 seconds of its ill-fated journey, according to prosecutors.
A man who got in the vehicle pushed the gear into park, helping bring it to a stop.
Doyle briefly joined the Royal Marines after school, according to media reports, later working in IT and cybersecurity.
People who knew him told UK media he was a “family-man” interested in fitness and well-liked by his neighbors.
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.