A British man was sentenced to 21-and-a-half years in prison Tuesday for injuring more than 130 people when he drove his car into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans during the team’s Premier League victory parade in May.
Liverpool Fan Attack: Sentencing
Paul Doyle, 54, admitted 31 criminal charges related to the incident, including nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and 17 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm. He pleaded guilty last month, averting a trial.
Prosecutors said Doyle drove into the crowd of fans – including adults and children – simply because he lost his temper. The incident occurred as approximately one million people celebrated Liverpool’s 20th English league title with an open-top bus parade.
Prosecutor Paul Greaney stated Doyle was “a man in a rage whose anger had completely taken hold of him” when he deliberately drove at the jubilant fans, injuring 134 people, including eight children. Greaney added that Doyle not only caused widespread injury but also “generated horror” among those who had anticipated a joyful day.
Doyle drove into the city center to collect friends and, within 77 seconds, plowed into the crowd while shouting, swearing, and repeatedly striking pedestrians with his vehicle.
One victim, Anna Bilonozhenko, who fled Ukraine due to the war in 2024, suffered a fractured knee and required surgery. “We came to this country because of the war in our homeland, hoping to finally feel safe,” she said in a statement. “At first, we did but now that feeling has been taken away … it feels like losing our safety all over again.”
Other victims described the lasting impact of the incident, reporting an inability to work, care for their families, be in crowded places, or continue supporting Liverpool.
Judge Andrew Menary, sentencing Doyle at Liverpool Crown Court, said, “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.”
Doyle’s lawyer, Simon Csoka, told the court that his client was “horrified by what he did” and expressed remorse, shame, and deep sorrow for those who were hurt.
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