A British guy changed his plea today and said he did it on purpose when he drove his car into fans at Liverpool Football Club’s Premier League triumph parade in May. This is a big turn in his court case.
Paul Doyle had first rejected the 31 allegations, which included causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray, and dangerous driving. The event in Liverpool city center on May 26 hurt dozens of people, including babies and toddlers.
Doyle cried in the dock on the second day of his trial as he pleaded guilty to each charge. He was wearing a suit and glasses, according to AFP.
On December 15, he will begin serving his sentence over the course of two days.
Judge Andrew Menary advised him to get ready for “a custodial sentence of some length.”
Doyle, who is from a suburb of Liverpool and is said to have been a Royal Marine, drove his Ford Galaxy Titanium into a lot of people as they were leaving the May 26 parade celebrating Liverpool’s win.
Merseyside Police said he hurt 134 people, including babies, kids, and adults.
There were no deaths, but 50 people needed to go to the hospital.
The victims had been celebrating their club’s 20th English top-flight title, which tied the record, when the Premier League season ended the day before.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators had seen its players walk the trophy around the city’s waterfront.
Some routes in the middle of the city were closed to regular traffic so the parade could go by.
The police quickly confirmed that the event was not terrorism. But the details of the purported incident are still mostly unclear.
Sarah Hammond, the Crown Prosecution Service’s lead regional prosecutor, said that Doyle had “finally accepted that he intentionally drove into crowds of innocent people.”
She said that dashcam footage from his car showed that he was “getting more and more agitated by the crowds” and that “instead of waiting for them to pass, he drove right at them, forcing his way through.”
She also said, “Driving a car into a crowd is an act of planned violence.”
“This wasn’t just a mistake by Paul Doyle; he chose to do this that day, and it turned a celebration into chaos.”
The criminal charges were for 29 victims, eight of whom were children at the time. The youngest was only six months old.
Father of three Doyle has been in jail since his arrest and will stay there until he is sentenced.
He was first accused with seven crimes, but in August, there were 24 more counts added to the indictment.
About the Author
