A dad who ploughed into crowds at Liverpool FC‘s victory parade can be heard beeping his horn, swearing and shouting at fans to “get out the way” as he drove his car straight at them – in dashcam footage shown in court.
Paul Doyle hit more than 100 people in the space of just 77 seconds as he drove, at speed, at those gathered in the city centre to celebrate the football team’s Premier League title win.
The impact saw fans, including children, trapped beneath the car, while others were flung across the bonnet and into the air.
The video, from inside the Ford Galaxy, captured audio and visuals as the 54-year-old swerved into hundreds of fans who were making their way back from the city’s waterfront after the celebration
Audio, recorded on the dad-of-three’s dash cam as he drove through the crowds, revealed his anger as he shouted at fans and used the car’s horn.
Emergency services at the scene of the incident on Water Street following Liverpool’s victory parade. Credit: PA Images
Liverpool Crown Court heard Doyle’s Ford Galaxy – which weighed nearly two tonnes – collided with “well over 100 people” and he was “prepared to cause those in the crowd, even children, serious harm if necessary to achieve his aim of getting through”.
Pedestrians pulled their children out of the path of Doyle’s car to stop them being hit, and the footage showed the windscreen smash after a man landed on it.
A total of 134 people – including children as young as six months – were injured as Doyle used his Ford Galaxy Titanium “as a weapon” as he drove down Water Street just after 6pm on 26 May.
Prosecutors said in the space of two minutes, Doyle’s Ford Galaxy – which weighed nearly two tonnes – collided with “well over 100 people”. Credit: PA Images
Doyle, who admitted 31 offences related to the crash in November, had been heading into the city centre from his home in Croxteth to collect friends.
Footage, played to Liverpool Crown Court at his sentencing hearing on Monday, showed him driving through the city centre.
Doyle closed his eyes and put his head down, crying, as the footage was shown.
Victims in the court were in tears.
Doyle had been driving into Liverpool to pick up a friend who had been at the parade, prosecutor Paul Greaney KC said.
But, before reaching the city centre more footage from his dash cam showed him driving dangerously and aggressively, including jumping a red light, shortly after leaving his home in Croxteth.
As he reached the centre Doyle tailgated an ambulance, leading him through a road block which had been temporarily lifted as it went to attend to someone suffering a heart attack.
CCTV footage showed the dad swerving through crowds, stopping, and then reversing back again, hitting the ambulance.
Once in Dale Street – which was open to traffic but busy with supporters – Doyle could be heard saying “f****** pricks” as pedestrians pulled their children out of the way of his car to stop them being hit.
The view through his windscreen showed him approach a line of cars waiting to turn right off the road before it becomes Water Street.
Liverpool parade crash occurred on 26 May 2024.
Doyle then swerved away from the traffic and into the left lane, which was closed as hundreds of fans were making their way back from the celebrations.
He could be heard shouting and screaming “move”, “f****** pricks” and “get out the f****** way” as shocked members of the public tried to jump out of the way of his car.
He was arrested at the scene, and during his interview claimed he had been threatened with a knife acted out of fear and panic for his life. He also claimed he stopped after first hitting someone with his car.
Both were later found to be a lie.
Court portrait of Paul Doyle Credit: PA/ Elizabeth Cook
Addressing his motive, Mr Greaney said: “The truth is a simple one. 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.
“He was prepared to cause those in the crowd, even children, serious harm if necessary to achieve his aim of getting through.
“So the truth is as simple as the consequences that day were awful.”
