Partially blind ‘childish’ woman ‘could not remember’ moments before cyclist was struck and killed

TO disabled and partially blind ‘childlike’ woman who was jailed for manslaughter told police she “couldn’t remember” telling a cyclist to “get off the fucking pavement” seconds before the retiree was killed by a car.

Auriol Grey, 49, was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month after his outburst caused 77-year-old grandmother Celia Ward to lose her balance and tumble onto the road, where she was struck by a car. and died.

Video footage of her interview with police shows that she told them “I don’t remember” when pressed for details of what happened during the incident.

Grey, who has cerebral palsy, is said to have made physical contact with Ms Ward before she lost her balance, but left the scene to do her shopping before telling police she did not speak to the emergency services because “she did not they were there”. .

It comes after activists criticized her sentence as extremely harsh for the 49-year-old woman, who has only one friend and is separated from her family.

The tragic accident occurred as the retired midwife was riding her bicycle on a path in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire on October 20, 2020.

In the footage, police officers asked Gray how Ms Ward ended up on the road.

“I think the bike may have, if it went off course, on the road,” she replied.

Asked if he had touched the bike or the cyclist during the incident, Gray replied: “Only in a vague way”, before adding that he touched it “lightly”.

He also originally said that he “couldn’t remember” if he had said anything to Mrs. Ward.

Later in the interview, the officers showed him CCTV footage of the collision, noting that they could see Grey’s lips moving.

He then told officers that he asked Ms. Ward to “slow down.”

They also showed Gray stills of the images, pointing out to Gray that his hand was “on [Ms Ward’s] jacket.’

When pressed to explain this, Gray again said, “I can’t remember.”

The officers then played him audio of Gray telling Ms. Ward to “get off the fucking pavement.”

Gray said he couldn’t hear what was being said on the audio.

He was later asked to explain what he had meant by yelling the curse word at Mrs Ward, to which she replied, “I can’t remember.”

Gray was also questioned as to why she did not stay to speak to the emergency services after Ms Ward was struck by the car.

She said, ‘They weren’t there.’

When she was pushed, she added: “They were helping her and you could hear the police and things coming.”

‘I didn’t know I had to [stay].’

The court heard that up to the sentencing, Gray had expressed “no remorse” for his actions and had left before emergency services arrived at the crash site, despite admitting to police that he had heard sirens. in the path.

It is understood that he is appealing his sentencewith his defense attorney warning that he risks losing his home and all his belongings if he continues to spend time in jail.

Her lawyer Miranda Moore KC told a court judge: ‘She has no one to support her apart from a friend and no family support at all. She has no financial support at all, apart from state benefits.

‘If she goes to prison today, she would lose her home and she has no one to guard her belongings. She doesn’t know what would happen to them.

Gray has lived alone for 17 years and has no partner, relying solely on state benefits to survive.

Her sister Genny, seven years older, died two years ago, but even before that, the two rarely had contact.

He has almost no contact with his mother, who has said Gray has struggled for years after suffering brain damage at birth.

But a judge said his actions “are not explained by the disability.”

Gray was said to have been warned to expect a prison sentence, but still believed he would only be given a suspended term.

Its basic ground floor flat is run by a charity that provides homes for disabled people who want to live independently.

Neighbors previously said she was known to have a short temper, was seen as a “loner” and was often heard screaming and swearing inside her apartment.

One, who lives across the street from Gray, told MailOnline: “We have paper-thin walls and sometimes I’ve heard her having a heated phone conversation with people, telling them to fuck off.”

“I never knew who he was talking to, but it was on the phone because he never had visitors.”

But another neighbor disagreed. Carrie Tooke, 51, an executive assistant, told MailOnline: ‘I can’t believe someone as lovely as her can be treated like this.

It is very, very cruel.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Sean Enright acknowledged Grey’s health problems but told him they “do not reduce his understanding of what is right and wrong.”

Judge Enright said he could only impose an immediate jail sentence, telling Gray that he was “disturbed by the presence of an oncoming cyclist” and that his actions “are not explained by his disability.”

“This was a shared path for cyclists and pedestrians, I’m sure they knew that cyclists used the path and they weren’t surprised,” the judge said.

The sentence has also been described as “extremely harsh” by disability advocates.

Fazilet Hadi, policy director at Disability Rights UK, told MailOnline: “This was a truly tragic incident, where Celia lost her life, and I feel sadness and sympathy for all involved.” The sentence given to Auriol does seem extremely harsh.

‘With the number of cyclists increasing, we need proper separation of pedestrians, cyclists and cars, so we can all protect each other.

“Government and councils need to review guidance to ensure safe streets.”