'I can’t believe to this day how lucky we were': Staffordshire woman run over by Liverpool parade danger driver relives moment her baby son's pram was hit
A Staffordshire woman whose infant son was the youngest victim of Liverpool parade danger driver Paul Doyle said it was a "miracle" her son was not injured when Doyle ploughed into her family and scores of fellow supporters.
Doyle, 54, injured 134 people in the shocking incident in May, where he drove through crowds of Liverpool FC fans in his Ford Galaxy.
Those hit by Doyle included six-month-old Teddy Eveson, whose pram was thrown into the air in the crash.
Teddy had been dressed proudly in his Liverpool shirt on May 26 by parents Sheree Aldridge and Daniel Eveson, who were "excited to share this moment" of celebrating the team's Premier League triumph with him.
The couple, who live in Cannock, were walking back to their car with Teddy in a pram after the parade, surrounded by ecstatic Liverpool fans, when Doyle began driving into the crowd.
Mr Eveson, who is from Telford, spun his partner round but Doyle's car hit the couple and the pram, knocking it further up the road.
Liverpool Crown Court heard in a harrowing statement from Ms Aldridge how she thought her son had been killed after the crash.
Now, in an interview with a national newspaper, she has described the horrifying moment she realised the pram had been hit by the car.
“I lost sight of the pram, and as I lay there in the road, I screamed and screamed to let people know my baby was up the road,” she told The Independent.
“Dan rushed forward, found the pram and took Teddy out of it before going straight over to an ambulance. I can’t believe to this day how lucky we were that he was OK, he was not injured. It was a miracle, really.
“If Dan hadn’t turned us round, we would have been hit by the car head-on. I’m very grateful, and I’ll never forget what he did for us.”
The Independent reported that Ms Aldridge spent two weeks in hospital receving treatment for her injuries while Mr Eveson later learnt he had suffered broken ribs and bruised muscles and had to give up work as a labourer.
On Tuesday Doyle was sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, affray, 17 charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, nine counts of causing GBH with intent and three counts of wounding with intent.
Ms Aldridge and Mr Eveson, both 37, joined many of the 134 victims attending his sentencing, which started on Monday.
But she told The Independent: “I don’t think about him at all. He’s not in my thought process. I don’t really know the reason [he did it]. I don’t think we’re going to ever properly know why he did what he did apart from being angry at traffic.
“I haven’t got any feelings towards him, because I just feel if I’m angry then that’s going to affect my day-to-day life, and I’m not going to let that happen.”
Last week, the family marked the first birthday of Ted – now nicknamed “Super Ted” – with a safari party and balloons.
