More than 100 people were hit by Paul Doyle's car in May 2025 during the victory parade for Liverpool Football Club
Nearly 80 people have spoken of the life changing injuries and ongoing impact of being hit by Paul Doyle's car as it ploughed through crowds of Liverpool fans in may 2025.
78 people submitted victim personal statements to Liverpool Crown Court as part of his sentencing, many describing "emotional and psychological injury".
A mother described how she thought her baby son had died after his pram was thrown into the air after being hit by Paul Doyle’s car, adding she thought she would “be next”.
Sheree Aldridge, 37, said her partner Dan Eveson had dressed their six-month-old son Teddy Eveson in his Liverpool FC shirt that day and “was excited to share this moment” with him.
Her statement read: “In that moment I thought I was going to die. I didn’t know where Dan and Teddy was.
“I felt an overwhelming pain in my leg and looked up to see Teddy’s pushchair on its side further up the road. I thought my Teddy was dead. I thought I was next. I thought my children would grow up without a mother.”
Ms Aldridge said her injuries made her feel “disgusting, disfigured and broken,” that she has been diagnosed with a lifelong condition called Morel-Lavaellee Lesion and suffers from severe back and hip pain from prolonged use of crutches.
Teddy Eveson was in his pram when he was dragged 16ft by Paul Doyle's property Credit: Good Morning Britain
She said: “Teddy hasn’t been in a pushchair since that day. My leg will never be the same again. I will never be the same again. I am scarred for life."
Meanwhile a Merseyside Police Officer has recalled the “sickening” noise of bodies being thrown into the air after they were hit by the car.
Sergeant Dan Hamilton said: “The distress of seeing the crowd scatter in panic and bodies being thrown into the air is something that will stay with me forever.
“The noise was sickening, dull thuds that are difficult to describe and impossible to forget. I remember lying on the floor thinking ‘This is it; I’m going to die."
Liverpool Crown Court was told 54-year-old Doyle flew into a “rage” and ploughed through the crowd of more than 100 people in the space of two minutes.
Other victims told the court about panic attacks, post traumatic stress syndrome and suicidal thoughts.
A mother whose 13-year-old son was injured in the parade said she has difficulty sleeping due to flashbacks and has visions of her son’s “terrified face”.
Her son still gets anxious in large crowds and avoids busy places, she added.
Paul Doyle cried in the dock as a 12-year-old boy’s statement was read out. The boy said it started as the “best day ever” but soon became the worst.
Paul Doyle cried in court as he listened to victim impact statements Credit: Merseyside Police
He said: “I found myself on the floor having been hit by a car I did not see coming, I have never felt so scared before in my life.”
The boy’s mother said in her statement her heart sunk when she saw her child motionless on the floor.
She said: “My injuries have since healed but it’s the aftermath I have found hard to cope with and has caused me much anxiety having to watch my son deal with the pain, the frustration, him feeling down and isolated from his friends in school, the nightmares and the aftereffects on him.
“The sight of my son lying motionless on the road, not moving for those few seconds, and the sound of the car hitting people will live with me forever.”
One of the police officers at the scene, Inspector Emma Haffenden of Merseyside Police, said it had been the worst incident she had dealt with in her 21-year career.
Paul Doyle's car ran through the crowd on Water Street in Liverpool Credit: ITV News
Inspector Haffenden, who injured her elbow in the incident, said: “I have now developed a fear of vehicles reversing due to what happened to me, and believing I was going to die.”
Paul Doyle put his head down and sobbed as the court heard a statement from one woman whose 13-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter were injured in the crash.
She said their mental health, and that of her husband who was also there, had been affected.
She said: “This has placed significant strain on our daily lives, routines and our ability to work and function as a family unit.”
The court heard Helen Gilmore, 51, had been with her son Ashton, who was 17 at the time, at the parade.
She said: “No child should ever have to witness their parent being hit by a car, let alone be the one who has to pull them out of the road to safety. That moment, that responsibility, was far too much for someone his age to bear.”
Doyle sobbed in the dock as the statement was read.
Melissa Osborne, said in her statement that her son, who was 17 at the time, played football for his college team and an academy but had been unable to attend pre-season training because of his injury.
She said: “This has also had its own impact on myself being his mum, it has been an emotional rollercoaster, I have had to pick up the pieces following the incident.”
The court also heard a statement from a 16-year-old who said since the incident he had been waking up in the night seeing and hearing a car coming towards him.
He said: “I sometimes think that things could have been a lot worse and that frightens me, but equally the incident should never have happened, and that’s why I find it hard to accept and move on with my life.”
Writing on behalf of her daughter, who cannot be named because of her age, a mother said in her victim impact statement that her child had to be referred for counselling following the incident.
She said: “I have witnessed certain changes in her since this incident, she has changed in herself, she has been suffering with anxiety, she has become clingy, not wanting to be away from us as she thinks something bad will happen, and she has formed irrational fears such as all of a sudden being petrified of dogs and will go into a complete meltdown if she sees a dog while we are out as a family.”
Doyle kept his head down in the dock as the statements were read, occasionally wiping his eyes.
Gary Hearns, 32, said he has suffered anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD and sleepless nights since it happened.
He said: “The thoughts that have went through my head, depression, suicidal and very unpleasant thoughts. Any time the incident is mentioned I just zone out and go back to the day, it’s so clear I freeze, panic and relive it all over again.”
In his statement, 31-year-old John Davey said the pain has been “relentless” after suffering spinal fractures in three places.
He said: “I cannot work, which means I cannot provide for my family… that has left me feeling ashamed, embarrassed, and broken, because it is not fair that they must suffer for what happened to me.
“I cannot see a future without pain, without stress, without anxiety. This incident has stolen my independence, my happiness, and my peace of mind. It has changed me forever, and it has changed my family’s life forever.”