Jonny Humphriesand
Phil McCann,North West
BBC
James Vernon said he picked himself up off the ground and rushed to the aid of the injured
A paramedic “sent flying” by a two-tonne car as it ploughed into a dense crowd at Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade has described how the “adrenaline took over”.
James Vernon did not even hear the Ford Galaxy Titanium, driven by 54-year-old Paul Doyle, coming before he was struck from behind on 26 May.
Mr Vernon, deployed as a cycle paramedic with the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) during the parade, was on his way to help a patient having a heart attack when he was struck.
Despite being knocked down, he was able to shelter children in the back of an ambulance and rush to the aid of many of Doyle’s 134 victims.
‘Almighty force’
Doyle, of Burghill Road in Croxteth, Liverpool, is due to be sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to 31 charges including causing GBH with intent, dangerous driving and affray.
Mr Vernon had been walking with his bicycle ahead of an ambulance to help it get to where the man had collapsed outside Hooters bar on Water Street, which was packed with tens of thousands of people.
He said: “There was a lot of people singing, a lot of people chanting, and I had the sirens at the back of me in close proximity, so very, very loud.
“I would say we were making good progress, and then all of a sudden I was struck with almighty force from behind, which has sent me flying over to the right-hand side.”
CPS
Paul Doyle pleaded guilty to 31 charges including causing GBH with intent on what was supposed to be the first day of his trial
Mr Vernon said he landed in a gutter and saw the car passing to his left.
“For me, instantly I thought I was in the middle of a terrorist incident,” he said.
After Doyle‘s car passed the ambulance, it stopped and reversed straight into it, before ricocheting back into the middle of the road.
Mr Vernon said it then lurched forward in a “sweeping” motion “throwing members of the public left and right.”
He activated the emergency function on his radio and shouted that he and other pedestrians had been “run over” on Water Street.
He and his colleague jumped in the back of the ambulance to take a “10 second breather” before deciding they needed to join the rescue effort.
“We both looked at each other and said ‘we need to help here, let’s get out, and let’s do our jobs’,” Mr Vernon said.
Footage of the incident was circulated on social media
Describing the scene as they opened the door, he said: “There were patients lying on the floor, there were push-chairs on their sides, scarves on the floor, empty beer bottles, there was just everything all over the floor.
“There were piercing screams and people running in any direction you can imagine but just not towards the car.”
Fearing that a terrorist could still emerge from the vehicle, the paramedics ushered six or seven children into the back of the ambulance.
“I wasn’t sure what the incident was outside,” he said.
“I knew there was a car. I knew the car ran over a significant amount of people, but I didn’t know what was then coming.”
Stopping at the “twisted” frame of his bike to grab some medical supplies, Mr Vernon began triaging the stricken fans in the road, including some still trapped under the Ford Galaxy.
EPA
Paul Doyle’s car ploughed into a dense crowd on Water Street just after 18:00
He said while his “extensive” training, including in mass casualty events, kicked in, he had never before been caught up in the same incident he was responding to.
“The adrenaline massively took over,” he said.
“I’m going to be honest, the next day I woke up very stiff, you know, and that’s very suggestive of that force, that whiplash kind of force.”
Mr Vernon said after more medics and police officers arrived on scene he was able to go into a makeshift casualty area in the Mowgli restaurant, where he was able to message his family and friends to tell them he was ok.
Asked his reaction to Doyle’s guilty pleas, he said: “I think the relief was immeasurable.
“It was like a weight had lifted off my shoulders because I knew that then negated me from having to go to Crown Court [as a witness], and having to go through that process, and ultimately it’s him admitting his guilt for what happened that day.”
