An ex- Royal Marine was a “man in a rage” as he drove into dozens of Liverpool football club supporters during a victory parade, in what many feared was a terrorist attack, according to court proceedings.
“The footage is deeply disturbing.”
Those injured in the incident wept as video from the car’s camera showed people being thrown into the air while he sped towards the gathering and shouted: “Fucking hell, move!”
The 54-year-old defendant is due to be sentenced on Tuesday following his guilty plea at the start of his trial last month to 31 criminal charges involving 29 victims, including eight minors.
The prosecution stated the court that the footage from Doyle’s two-tonne Ford Galaxy proved to be “truly shocking”. The recording revealed the parent shouting “expletives” and “move out of the way” as he drove towards hundreds of fans, with people frantically dragging children to safety as his car horn blared.
It was stated in court that Doyle acted as a “individual whose anger whose anger had completely taken hold of him” as he continued driving into the mass of people, accelerating as people collided with his car.
In total, the former Royal Marine injured 134 individuals within a mere seven-minute span – including more than 50 who needed hospital treatment. An infant was “miraculously” uninjured despite being left splayed on the road when Doyle’s car hit his pram, according to testimony.
One fan, a man named in court, was seen being launched into the air by the car, sustaining a cut to the back of his head, rib fractures and numerous scrapes.
Doyle was heard screaming “for God’s sake move! Get out my fucking way!” before ploughing further into panicked fans, including an elderly woman and children who were dragged under the car.
Speaking to a full court, the prosecution said approximately a million individuals were present at “an event they believed to be a joyous occasion” marking the football club’s championship win. Scenes of jubilation turned to “terror”, it was said, when the driver entered the crowd as he attempted to pick up a friend from the parade route.
“Some at the scene believed what was taking place constituted a terrorist incident.”
With injured people on the street, the vehicle’s path was stopped by a former soldier, Dan Barr, who climbed into a rear passenger seat and held the car’s gear selector in “park”. Even then, Doyle continued pressing the gas pedal, the court heard.
In his police interview, the defendant stated he acted in a “state of sheer panic” because he feared for his life. However, prosecutors contended that the dashcam footage demonstrated Doyle “just lost his temper in his desire to get to where he wanted to get to”. The prosecutor added: “Consumed by anger, he drove into the crowd and as he did so his intent was to cause serious injury.”
The video showed the driver was driving recklessly prior to entering downtown, undertaking cars at speed and jumping red lights. He disregarded road closures and bypassed other vehicles, even emergency service vehicles, as he approached the packed streets.
The defendant is understood to be facing a jail term of over a decade when he is sentenced on Tuesday.
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