Driver charged with causing grievous bodily harm after Liverpool soccer parade tragedy

LONDON (AP) — A driver who injured nearly 80 people when his car rammed into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans celebrating their team’s Premier League championship was charged Thursday with intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and six other serious counts, a prosecutor said.

Paul Doyle, 53, was also charged with dangerous driving and five other counts alleging different variations of causing or attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, Prosecutor Sarah Hammond said. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The charges involve six victims, including two children.

The injured ranged in age from 9 to 78, with at least 50 people treated at hospitals. Seven people remained in the hospital Thursday in stable condition.

Hammond said the investigation was at an early stage as police review a huge volume of evidence, including videos and eyewitness statements.

“It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve,” Hammond said.

The city had been celebrating Liverpool’s record-tying 20th title when the driver turned down a street full of fans and joy quickly turned to tragedy.

“We know that Monday’s shocking scenes reverberated around the city of Liverpool, and the entire country, on what should have been a day of celebration for hundreds of thousands of Liverpool FC supporters," Hammond said.

Doyle remained in custody and faces his first court hearing Friday in Liverpool Magistrates’ Court.

Police had previously said they believed Doyle dodged a road block by tailing an ambulance responding to a report of a person in cardiac arrest.

Video that circulated on social media showed scenes of horror as the car struck and tossed a person in the air who was draped in a Liverpool flag and then swerved into a sea of people packed on the side of the road.

At least four people, including a child, were rescued from beneath the vehicle when it came to a halt.

Merseyside Police said the driver was believed to have acted alone and they did not suspect terrorism.

They did not disclose an alleged motive for the act.

“I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions,” Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said during a short news conference. “Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism to seek the answer to all of those questions.”

Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident near the Liver Building during the Premier League winners parade, in Liverpool, England, Monday May 26, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Liverpool players celebrate with the trophy on an open-top bus during the Liverpool FC Premier League victory parade in Liverpool, England, Monday, May 26, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A fan scarf lies near the site where a 53-year-old British man plowed a minivan into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans who were celebrating the city's Premier League championship Monday, injuring more than 45 people in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, May 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Scooters lie on the site where a 53-year-old British man plowed a minivan into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans who were celebrating the city's Premier League championship Monday, injuring more than 45 people in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, May 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Fans leave as Police and emergency personnel deal with an incident after a car collided with pedestrians near the Liver Building during the Premier League winners parade in Liverpool, England, Monday, May 26, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)