Jay Vernon was struck by a car during the Liverpool victory parade crash when Paul Doyle drove into crowds of fans
Paramedic Jay Vernon was hit by Paul Doyle’s car(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
An NWAS paramedic who was on duty during the Liverpool parade crash has recalled the terrifying moment he was hit by a car, believing he was in the midst of a terrorist attack. Jay Vernon, 34, was responding to a reported cardiac arrest in Water Street, Liverpool city centre, on May 26, just after the victory parade had ended.
However he was hit when Paul Doyle, 54, drove his car into the crowds returning from the Premier League victory celebration at the city’s waterfront. Doyle is set to be sentenced on Monday for 31 offences related to the incident.
Mr Vernon said he had been making his way along Water Street on foot in front of an ambulance when he was hit by Doyle’s car. He said: “I was struck with almighty force from behind, which has then sent me flying over to the right hand side, and I landed in the gutter on Water Street.
“I’ve put my hands out to brace myself, as you normally would, and then, as I’ve been in the gutter, there was a number of people around me and on the floor. As I’ve looked left, I’ve seen a car. I’ve then seen the car reverse lights come on and it start heading back up towards Water Street.
“It was at that point in my mind, I immediately thought, ‘I’m in the middle of a terrorist incident’.”
Mr Vernon, from Aigburth in Liverpool, described how he leapt clear as the vehicle reversed towards him at considerable speed, witnessing it collide with the ambulance before rebounding into the road.
Despite sustaining only minor grazes, he managed to activate the emergency button on his radio, alerting all units across the network, and informed the dispatcher: “I’ve been struck by a vehicle. I’m on Water Street and there are multiple casualties.”
Immediately attending to those wounded nearby, he saw the vehicle beginning to move once more. He said: “It was at that moment in time then that I actually feared for my safety. I obviously had passed some messages via the emergency button, but I felt really vulnerable.”
Mr Vernon went inside an ambulance to find safety, before opening the door and allowing children inside the vehicle to keep them out of harm’s way. He then went back out towards Doyle’s car to provide help.
Forensic officers at the scene in Water Street in Liverpool(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)
He said: “There were people on the floor. There were pushchairs that, obviously, children have been in, on their side.
“There were bottles of alcohol and stuff all over the floor and a significant amount of people running in in every direction imaginable to get away from what I assume they would think was a terrorist incident as well.”
As he headed back down the street the car had come to a stop, but he could see police had opened the boot and were pulling the inside of it apart. He said: “It was at that moment that I stopped and was thinking, ‘What am I going down towards here?'”
He continued to the scene, where he quickly triaged patients and passed equipment to those who were tending to the injured.
He said: “Ultimately, the adrenaline and that desire to help people just kicked in and I think that’s what got me through the majority of the incident.”
Mr Vernon was one of 29 of the 134 injured people who Doyle was charged with an offence against. He was at home last month on a rest day when he saw a news notification on his watch saying the defendant had pleaded guilty to all offences, which included attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Vernon.
Paul Doyle(Image: PA Media)
He said it came as a “relief” that he did not have to attend court to give evidence. Among the other paramedics who were first on the scene was Matt Hall, 39, who had also been called to a reported cardiac arrest but was returning to his ambulance, parked on a side street, after being told the patient had left the area.
He heard the message over the radio and returned to Water Street, by which time Doyle’s car had come to a stop.
He said: “The driver of the car was gone at that point, and we had several casualties lying around. Most of them at that point were receiving some kind of treatment.”
He said the injured included people with blunt force trauma injuries, chest injuries, rib fractures and other broken bones.
Paramedics Matt Hall, left, and Jay Vernon, recounted the day Paul Doyle drove into football fans at Liverpool FC’s victory parade(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Planning for the parade meant there were ambulances nearby which could get there quickly and police cordoned off the area to create a scene of “relative calmness”, he said.
He said: “I looked calm, I think, but like all of us inside you’re running at a million miles an hour and you’re thinking of lots of potentials and lots of things that you need to do.”
He said that thanks to his colleagues the response to the major incident ran “efficiently” and “very well”.
He said: “I’m sure there are some residual and lasting effects for people, but it’s not the worst-case scenario. It could have been a very, very different story.”