Breadcrumb Trail Links
Sports
Soccer
Author of the article:
AFP
AFP
by Paul Barker with Jo Biddle in London
Published Dec 16, 2025 • 3 minute read
Security camera footage showed Paul Doyle driving through the crowds.
Security camera footage showed Paul Doyle driving through the crowds. Photo by Handout /MERSEYSIDE POLICE/AFP
Article content
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
A driver who in a fit of road rage drove into crowds celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League victory was on Tuesday jailed for 21 years and six months for causing scenes of “horror and devastation”.
Advertisement 2
Toronto Sun
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
Enjoy additional articles per month.
Get email updates from your favourite authors.
THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
Enjoy additional articles per month
Get email updates from your favourite authors
Article content
Paul Doyle, 54, sobbed openly in court as victim impact statements were read out, telling of people’s permanent injuries and how they had been left with nightmares and painful memories.
Article content
Article content
“What should have been a day of communal celebration has been instead left as a lasting legacy of fear, injury and loss across this community,” Judge Andrew Menary told him.
“Your actions caused horror and devastation on a scale not previously encountered by this court.”
Shocking dashcam clips played in court over the two-day sentencing hearing showed Doyle aggressively beeping his horn, shouting and swearing at the crowds to move out of his way.
“The impact extended far beyond those named on the indictment, parents and children, police officers, grandparents, students, tourists and passers by were all cut up, caught up in the events, which many believed in the moment to be a mass casualty terror attack,” Menary said.
opening envelope
Your Midday Sun
Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Doyle used the vehicle as a weapon, injuring 134 people over the course of less than 10 minutes, prosecuting lawyer Paul Greaney told Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.
“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 said.
Doyle pleaded guilty to 31 criminal charges last month, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray and dangerous driving.
He had previously denied the charges and prosecutors said he had planned to contest them by arguing that he drove into crowds after panicking.
But he changed his plea unexpectedly on the second day of his November trial, admitting each of the 31 counts, which relate to 29 victims aged between six months and 77 years old.
Advertisement 4
Article content
Baby thrown from pram
Coyle, a father of two sons, left his family home in a Liverpool suburb on May 26 in his Ford Galaxy Titanium.
He was due to collect a friend who had joined the hundreds of thousands of fans celebrating Liverpool’s victory in claiming a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
Over the course of seven minutes, Doyle instead drove his nearly two-tonne vehicle seemingly indiscriminately into pedestrians, some of whom were thrown against the car’s bonnet.
Although no one was killed, 50 required hospital treatment, according to Merseyside Police.
His youngest victim was a six-month-old baby who was flung from his pram but was miraculously unhurt.
Police swiftly declared that the incident was not terrorism.
Advertisement 5
Article content
After hitting the first victims, Doyle continued down another street and struck more people, reversing at one point and colliding with others as well as an ambulance.
“You had repeated opportunities to stop but you chose instead to continue that regardless,” Menary said.
The car eventually stopped after several people including children became trapped beneath it and a pedestrian jumped inside and pushed the gear into park, helping bring it to a stop.
Onlookers described scenes of carnage, including hearing the car drive over people and seeing scores of victims lying on the street.
“In my 20 years of policing, this is the most distressing and graphic footage that I have come across in terms of his dashcam,” Merseyside Police Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald told AFP.
“It’s really difficult to comprehend how somebody can just drive over people in a fit of rage to get to where he wants to get to.”
Article content
Share this article in your social network
Comments