A “territorial” pedestrian who killed a 77-year-old cyclist after becoming enraged by her presence on the pavement was sentenced to prison.
Auriol Grey, 49, yelled an expletive and made a “aggressive gesture” towards Celia Ward, who was hit by a car in Huntingdon in 2020.
Grey “resented” the cyclist’s presence, according to Peterborough Crown Court.
Grey, of Bradbury Place, Huntingdon, was sentenced to three years in prison for manslaughter.
During the afternoon of October 20, the women passed each other in opposite directions on the pavement of the Cambridgeshire town’s ring road, according to a trial.
Grey could be heard shouting at Mrs Ward, a retired midwife, to “get off the [expletive] pavement” on CCTV, which included sound.
Prosecutors claimed the defendant was “angry by the presence of a cyclist on a footpath” and motioned towards Mrs Ward, of Wyton, who was hit by a car.
The vehicle had “no chance to stop or take avoiding action,” according to jurors, and Mrs Ward was pronounced dead at the scene.
Grey left before the emergency services arrived and went to Sainsbury’s to get groceries.
According to the testimony at the trial, police could not “categorically” state whether the pavement was a shared cycleway.
Cambridgeshire County Council later reiterated this and stated that the location would be reviewed, but in his sentencing remarks, Judge Sean Enright stated that it was a shared cycleway.
Judge Enright said in sentencing Grey that she was “territorial about the pavement” and “resented” the cyclist being there.
Grey had cerebral palsy and was partially sighted, according to the judge, but “these actions are not explained by disability.”
He said that she had given a “dishonest account in interview” and there was “not a word about remorse until today”.
“Consideration of other road users is the lesson of this tragic case,” Judge Enright added.
He said the victim impact statements had made for “painful reading”, with Mrs Ward’s husband of 53 years, David, stating “rarely a day goes by without thinking of her”.
Their daughter, Gillian Hayter, described her mother’s death as “senseless and needless”, and paid tribute to the police officers who were “a credit to the uniform they wear”.
The driver of the car that hit Mrs Ward said there was “always a piece of me that feels guilty” and that her whole life had “turned upside down” following the incident.Miranda Moore KC, who stated in mitigation for Grey that “there was no intention to cause harm or an obvious risk of harm,” announced that she would appeal the sentence.
Det Sgt Mark Dollard, of Cambridgeshire Police, described it as 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.
“I hope it is a stark reminder to all road users to take care and be considerate of each other.”
