An ex- Royal Marine was a “man in a rage” when he drove into dozens of LFC supporters at a championship celebration, an incident many initially feared to be a act of terrorism, a court has heard.
“The footage is profoundly upsetting.”
Victims in the incident wept as dashcam footage depicted people being thrown into the air as he accelerated into crowds while screaming: “Get out of the way!”
The 54-year-old defendant will learn his fate on Tuesday following his guilty plea on the first day of his trial last month to 31 offences against 29 victims, including eight minors.
The prosecution stated those in court that the video evidence from the defendant’s large people carrier proved to be “extremely graphic”. It showed the parent shouting “expletives” and “fucking move” while he headed straight for a large crowd of supporters, some pulling children out of the way as his car horn blared.
The court was told that Doyle was a “individual whose anger had completely overpowered him” as he ploughed further into the crowd, accelerating as people collided with his car.
In total, the former Royal Marine injured 134 people in just seven minutes – including more than 50 who needed hospital treatment. A six-month-old boy was “remarkably” uninjured despite being left splayed on the road after the vehicle struck his stroller, the court heard.
One fan, a man named in court, was seen being launched into the air by the vehicle, suffering a laceration on his head, broken ribs and numerous scrapes.
The defendant was heard screaming “fuck’s sake move! Get out my fucking way!” before ploughing further into panicked fans, including an elderly woman and children who became trapped beneath the vehicle.
Speaking to a full court, the prosecution said approximately a million individuals had attended “what they thought would be a day of joyfulness” to celebrate Liverpool winning their 20th league title. The celebratory atmosphere turned to “horror”, 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 the events unfolding was a terrorist attack.”
With injured people on the street, the vehicle’s path was brought to a halt by an ex-army member, Dan Barr, who entered the back of the car and held the car’s gear selector in “park”. Despite this, Doyle kept his foot on the accelerator, the court heard.
During questioning, the defendant claimed he reacted in a “blind panic” due to a fear for his safety. Yet, prosecutors contended that the dashcam footage showed the defendant “simply lost control in his desire to get to where he wanted to get to”. The prosecutor added: “In a rage, he targeted 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 ignored traffic diversion measures and bypassed other vehicles, even emergency service vehicles, as he approached the packed streets.
The defendant is expected to receive a jail term of over a decade at his sentencing hearing.
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