Liverpool Parade Driver Jailed Over 21 Years After Crowd Attack

A man who drove into crowds celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League victory has been sentenced to more than 21 years in prison, bringing a measure of legal closure to an incident that shocked the city and scarred dozens of families. Paul Doyle, 54, was jailed for 21 years and six months after a Liverpool Crown Court found that his actions turned a public celebration into scenes of chaos, fear, and lasting trauma.

Doyle sobbed openly in court as victim impact statements were read aloud, detailing permanent injuries, psychological trauma, nightmares, and painful memories that continue to affect victims long after the event. Addressing him directly, Judge Andrew Menary made clear the scale of harm caused. “What should have been a day of communal celebration has been instead left as a lasting legacy of fear, injury, and loss across this community,” he said. The judge added, “Your actions caused horror and devastation on a scale not previously encountered by this court.”

During the two day sentencing hearing, dashcam footage played in court showed Doyle aggressively beeping his horn, shouting, and swearing at people in the road as crowds filled the streets to celebrate Liverpool’s title win. The footage underlined the prosecution’s argument that this was not a momentary lapse but a sustained act of extreme recklessness.

What happened during the Liverpool parade attack?

According to prosecutors, Doyle used his vehicle as a weapon, injuring 134 people in less than 10 minutes. Prosecuting lawyer Paul Greaney told the court, “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.”

Judge Menary emphasized that the impact reached far beyond those formally listed as victims. “The impact extended far beyond those named on the indictment; parents and children, police officers, grandparents, students, tourists, and passersby were all cut up, caught up in the events, which many believed in the moment to be a mass casualty terror attack,” he said.

Doyle ultimately pleaded guilty to 31 criminal charges, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray, and dangerous driving. The charges related to 29 victims ranging in age from just six months to 77 years old. Prosecutors said Doyle had initially denied responsibility and planned to argue that he panicked and lost control. That strategy collapsed when he unexpectedly changed his plea on the second day of his trial, admitting every count.

How did the incident unfold and why was it not terrorism?

On May 26, Doyle left his family home in a Liverpool suburb driving a Ford Galaxy Titanium. He was due to collect a friend who had joined hundreds of thousands of supporters celebrating Liverpool’s record equaling 20th English top flight title. Instead, over the course of about seven minutes, he drove his nearly two tonne vehicle into pedestrians across multiple streets.

Some victims were thrown onto the bonnet of the car. Others were struck as Doyle continued driving, even reversing at one point and colliding with more people and an ambulance. Merseyside Police confirmed that although no one was killed, at least 50 people required hospital treatment. One of the most disturbing details involved a six month old baby who was flung from a pram but was miraculously unharmed.

Police were quick to state that the incident was not terrorism. However, the fear experienced by those present was real and immediate. Onlookers described scenes of carnage, with people lying injured across the road and witnesses hearing the car drive over victims.

Judge Menary highlighted that Doyle had multiple chances to stop. “You had repeated opportunities to stop, but you chose instead to continue that regardless,” he said. The car was eventually brought to a halt only after several people, including children, became trapped underneath it and a pedestrian jumped into the vehicle and forced it into park.

Merseyside Police Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald described the dashcam footage as the most disturbing he had seen in two decades of policing. “In my 20 years of policing, this is the most distressing and graphic footage that I have come across in terms of his dashcam,” he told AFP. “It’s really difficult to comprehend how somebody can just drive over people in a fit of rage to get to where he wants to get to.”

The sentence reflects the court’s assessment that this was an act of extreme violence driven by anger, with consequences that will follow victims and the wider Liverpool community for years to come.

By Yockshard Enyendi