‘My baby was flung 15ft in the Liverpool parade attack. It’s a miracle he’s still alive’
Walking through a crowd of wildly happy football fans, Sheree Aldridge carefully pushed her five-month-old baby, Teddy, into the stroller. He and his partner Daniel Eveson were walking back to their car after Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade; An afternoon of celebration and joy for over a million fans.
A few minutes later, as the family of three entered Water Street, they heard a loud noise. Then someone shouted “car”.
Mr Eveson, 37, instantly turned his partner around and away from the approaching danger. But it was too late now. Paul Doyle’s 1.9-tonne Ford Galaxy crashed into its side, sending the baby stroller and his beloved son 15ft down the road.
Ms. Aldridge, 37, a security guard, was thrown onto the hood of Doyle’s car. He fell back onto the road and was crushed, suffering injuries that paramedics described as more similar to those suffered in a motorway crash.
Follow our live updates on Paul Doyle’s sentencing HERE
But he said what happened to his son was a miracle.
“I lost sight of the stroller and as I lay on the road, I screamed to let people know my baby was on the way,” she said. Independent.
“Dan ran over, found the stroller and got Teddy out of there before running straight to the ambulance. I can’t believe how lucky we are to this day that he is okay and uninjured. It truly was a miracle.
“If Dan hadn’t turned us around, the car would have hit us head-on. I’m so grateful and will never forget what he did for us.”
Last week, the family celebrated Ted’s first birthday, now nicknamed “Super Ted,” with a safari party and blow-up balloons. It was a special moment to celebrate for parents living in Cannock, Staffordshire.
But both are still struggling with the physical and emotional consequences of what happened that day.
After spending two weeks in hospital for a wound to her leg, Ms Aldridge needs ongoing treatment for nerve damage to the limb and a spinal cord injury. He had 44 medical appointments since the accident.
Meanwhile, Mr Eveson learned a few weeks after the incident that he had suffered three broken ribs and bruising to his sternum and trapezius. The pain forced him to stop working as a laborer.
Miss Aldridge said: “My injury means I can’t lift Teddy for very long or sit on the floor with him for very long. The injuries to my body mean he is in a lot of pain. I’m going to have physio and plastic surgery. They say it will help but they’re not so sure the pain will go away.”
“Doctors say the injuries are similar to those of someone who crashed on the highway.”
Ms Aldridge said memories of the crash continued to haunt her. “You don’t feel untouchable anymore,” he said. “You feel like there’s a target on you and anything can happen. So you look at things from a different perspective.”
He and Mr Eveson were set to join most of the 134 victims who attended the sentencing of 54-year-old Doyle at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday. Doyle pleaded guilty to 31 charges, including intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Teddy, the youngest victim of the day.
But Ms. Aldridge said she did not feel anger toward Doyle, who prosecutors said flew into a rage when confronted by crowds of people.
He said: “I don’t think about it at all. It’s not in my thought process. I don’t really know why.” [he did it]. Other than being angry at the traffic, I don’t think we’ll ever really find out why he did what he did.
“I have no feelings for him because I feel like if I get angry it will affect my daily life and I won’t let that happen.”
