Woman who caused cyclist to fall into road jailed for manslaughter

Mar 02, 2023

A woman who shouted and waved aggressively at a cyclist on the pavement, causing her to fall into the path of a car, has been jailed for manslaughter.

CCTV shows Auriol Grey shout “get off the f****** pavement” as Celia Ward approached her in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, in October 2020.

The 77-year-old then veered off the 2.4 metre-wide path into the road.

Grey, who has cerebral palsy and was described by her lawyer as “partially blind”, was sentenced to three years after denying the manslaughter charge.

The judge at Peterborough Crown Court said the 49-year-old’s actions were “not explained by disability” and that the pavement was a “shared path on the ring road”.

Mrs Ward’s widower said he was haunted by the clip of his wife’s last moments

“Rarely a day goes by without thinking of her and our happy life together but I can so easily burst into tears, as I have on so many occasions,” said David Ward in a statement.

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He described her as “kind, calm, careful, cheerful and competent in all that she did”.

The driver of the car that hit Mrs Ward – who was with her two-year-old daughter at the time – told the court her life had been “turned upside down” by the incident.

Grey’s lawyer, Miranda Moore KC, said her client believed “where the pavements are narrow the cyclists… should cycle on the road” but that “there was no intention to cause harm or an obvious risk of harm”.

After the verdict, she launched an appeal on Grey’s behalf but a request for bail was denied.

Detective Sergeant Mark Dollard called it “a difficult and tragic case”.

“Everyone will have their own views of cyclists on pavements and cycleways, but what is clear is Grey’s response to the presence of Celia on a pedal cycle was totally disproportionate and ultimately found to be unlawful, resulting in Celia’s untimely and needless death”.

In a statement after sentencing, Mrs Ward’s daughter said she thought about her mother every day.

“It’s easy to say how wonderful my mum was… she was passionate about her family and always there to help and support us,” said Gillian Hayter.

“She was of a generation that made and mended, kept a spotless house and always put others first.”

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