The driver’s dashcam provided the most incriminating evidence against him. What it showed will
Paul Doyle (right) sobs as the prosecution’s Paul Greaney KC plays the devastating dashcam footage to the court(Image: PA)
First there’s shouting, repeated cries of “f***ing move” as an enraged man who felt like he owned the road realised he wasn’t getting his own way. Then there’s the roar of the engine, as the man behind the wheel, Paul Doyle, put his foot to the floor and the car lurched forward. And then there’s carnage.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this week that Doyle, a 54-year-old married dad-of-three, used his car as a “weapon” to deliberately drive into crowds of celebrating fans at this year’s LFC title-winning parade.
Damning footage released to the media to share with the public showed how Doyle ran a red light and undertook a number of vehicles before even reaching the city centre street where he caused utter devastation in May this year.
CCTV taken from both Dale Street and Water Street showed the moment Doyle’s fuse was well and truly ignited, pushing on forward through the crowds before making contact with dozens of people.
But it was the footage deemed too graphic and upsetting for the general public to see which tells the true story. Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, warned what was going to be displayed on the court’s TV screens was “truly shocking”.
There were audible gasps in courtroom 41 when Doyle’s own dashcam footage was played. In the space of just over two minutes, he ploughed forward into the heart of the crowd, screaming and swearing, repeatedly shouting for those in front of him to move from his path.
Facial expressions of men, women and children who faced down the Ford Galaxy were clearly visible on the camera. Confusion and anger turned to utter terror and pain as they realised Doyle had no intension of stopping.
The moment Paul Doyle started to drive into crowds(Image: PA)
Victims and their families held their heads in their hands and silently sobbed as the horrifying footage brought back memories of the day. Crime journalists sat on the press benches, no strangers to graphic and disturbing images, winced as the footage was repeatedly played.
One man was flung several feet into the air after bouncing off Doyle’s bonnet, sickeningly landed and lying still. A terrified woman with blonde hair screamed as she disappeared under the car’s front bumper.
A can of beer flew into the air as the car, used as a wrecking ball, smashed into a different man wearing a matching Montirex cap and tracksuit top. A girl, just 10, bounced off the car, as Doyle demanded “f***ing hell, move”.
Other footage taken from mobile phones, CCTV and police bodycam and played in court showed the level of devastation Doyle had wreaked.
A young boy, aged just 12 and wearing a red framed pair of glasses shaped like a trophy, bravely told people “I’m okay” despite a wound clearly visible on his head. A baby being picked up from the ground where he lay next to his pram on its side. The tarmacked road stained red with blood.
The emergency scene on Water Street, Liverpool city centre, after Paul Doyle drove his car into the Liverpool parade crowds back in May(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
These are all memories permanently embedded in the minds of those who watched the footage inside court on Monday. Others will likely never forget the sound of metal on flesh and bone as the nearly two-tonne car indiscriminately careered forward.
I was one of the first reporters on Water Street on May 26. I saw the wounded bodies littered across the road before the police were able to erect a cordon. I attended the first press conference, held the night of the incident as the clock ticked towards midnight, expecting to hear how numerous people had been killed.
There was a collective sigh of relief when senior emergency services figures addressed journalists that night and confirmed despite dozens of injuries, no one had died. And this week, after seeing first-hand the devastation captured on that dashcam, I’m sure everyone believes it’s an absolute miracle that the death toll remained at zero.
I completely understand and support the decision not to release the full dashcam footage to the public. Some of the images are too graphic and would expose the victims to an unneeded level of attention.
But I also think those who weren’t in the city centre on that Bank Holiday Monday who witnessed Doyle’s actions first-hand, or in court this week to relive what happened that day through the dashcam footage, may struggle to understand the full magnitude of his actions.
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Paul Doyle, wiping away tears as he appears at Liverpool Crown Court(Image: PA)
Debate has raged this week on social media, in the ECHO comments and even on national television asking if Doyle’s sentence was justified. One of the principle arguments put forward appears to be that Doyle’s sentence is considerably harsher than those handed out to sex offenders and even murderers.
I’m not going to argue against the fact that every week in court we report on cases where the sentence is shorter than expected or deserved. But the prison terms are methodically calculated by judges, already struggling against the creaking judicial system and overstretched prison network, who have to work within the guidelines set by the independent Sentencing Council.
However, I don’t believe anyone who saw the footage played inside courtroom 41 this week could possibly argue against Doyle’s sentence. When you factor in the gravity and scale of those injured and affected by what he did, the sentence is proportionate to his crimes.
There have also been calls for Doyle’s sentence to be increased, with the Attorney General’s Office confirming they have received a number of requests under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. I think it’s highly unlikely Doyle’s term will be increased given the trial judge already significantly increased the sentence past the starting point because of the “sheer scale of the offending”.
Judge Andrew Menary KC, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool, told Doyle: “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.”
For everyone who watched the footage it defies belief that what Doyle did was simply because he lost his temper. I can only hope that his incarceration allows his victims to move forward with their lives.