A prosecutor has explained the reason he thinks Paul Doyle drove a car through Liverpool FC’s victory parade in May. Doyle, 54, was jailed today for 21 years and six months for ploughing his Ford Galaxy directly into supporters leaving the Premier League title-winning celebrations. The seven-minute incident left 134 people injured along Water Street, which had been closed to traffic.
Specialist prosecutor James Allison, of CPS Mersey Cheshire’s Complex Casework Unit, said Doyle « lost his temper », driving into the crowd « in a rage ». He said: « In seven minutes of dangerous driving, Doyle, a middle-aged family man, used that vehicle as a weapon, hitting more than 100 people, including children, babies, and the elderly. « When it eventually ended, he had trapped some of them underneath his vehicle.
« He not only injured many people, but he also generated horror and chaos on what was meant to be a day of celebration and joyfulness.
« The reason why he did it? The truth is as simple as it is awful: Paul Doyle lost his temper and, in a rage, drove into people, intending to cause them serious harm. »
Doyle, a former Royal Marine, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, affray, 17 charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, nine counts of causing GBH with intent, and three counts of wounding with intent.
Sentencing judge Andrew Menary KC echoed Mr Allison’s comments about Doyle’s state of rage when he committed the crime. He told the defendant he acted in an « inexplicable and undiluted fury ».
He told Doyle: « It is almost impossible to comprehend how any right-thinking person could act as you did. To drive a vehicle into crowds of pedestrians with such persistence and disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding.
« Your actions caused horror and devastation on a scale not previously encountered by this court. »
Source link
