Police interview with a woman who was jailed for urging the cyclist to “get off the pavement” before she was killed
Details have emerged of a police interview with a partially blind and disabled pedestrian who told a cyclist to “get off the frigging sidewalk” before she was killed. Adhesive footage showed Auriol Grey, 49, who claimed she only told Celia Ward, 77, to “slow down” before the horror crash.
In fact, just seconds before her fatal accident, Gray had shouted an expletive and gestured with his hands at the retired midwife. And when briefed on the offensive phrase she uttered on Oct. 20, 2020, she tells officers in the clip that she “doesn’t know” why she used that language.
In the footage, Gray begins by saying, “I think [I just said] ‘slow down, just slow down’, yeah” before the full CCTV clip is played to her. A police officer then tells her: “We don’t need to keep watching where the lady gets hit by the car. Did you hear yourself what was said there?”
READ MORE: Brit jailed for urging cyclists off pavement just before being hit by car
She then remains silent for a while, but replies, “Not quite, no. I couldn’t really hear it,” before adding, “I don’t remember… I don’t know.” Grey, who was described as “childlike” at her hearing, was found guilty of manslaughter following a trial at Peterborough Crown two weeks ago found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.
Following the sentencing, Celia’s daughter, Gillian Hayter, said Grey’s “lack of remorse” had a major impact on her family. She said: “The defendant’s lack of any remorse cannot be underestimated as it has a profound effect on all of us.
“I can still remember the details of the conversation when I heard that my mother died in a bicycle accident. The panic, disbelief and shock of losing her in such a horrific accident was hard to understand.
“But the news that it wasn’t a tragic accident was incomprehensible. Judge Sean Enright, who ruled in Grey’s case, recognized her disability but said it did not excuse her for breaking the law.”
He told her, “It doesn’t diminish your understanding of right or wrong. You haven’t said a word about remorse in the prejudice notes to date.
“I accept the counsel’s explanation and that the difficulties you would face in detention and thereafter are significant.”
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