Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist

[thirdcrank]

Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist

A pedestrian has been found guilty of killing a 77-year-old cyclist who had "angered" her by being on the pavement.

Auriol Grey, 49, gestured in a "hostile and aggressive way" towards Celia Ward who fell into the path of an oncoming car in Huntingdon on 20 October 2020.

Peterborough Crown Court heard Grey had shouted at Mrs Ward to "get off the [expletive] pavement".

Grey, of Bradbury Place, Huntingdon, was convicted of manslaughter and will be sentenced on 2 March.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-c ... e-64512139

[Cowsham]

Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist

A pedestrian has been found guilty of killing a 77-year-old cyclist who had "angered" her by being on the pavement.

Auriol Grey, 49, gestured in a "hostile and aggressive way" towards Celia Ward who fell into the path of an oncoming car in Huntingdon on 20 October 2020.

Peterborough Crown Court heard Grey had shouted at Mrs Ward to "get off the [expletive] pavement".

Grey, of Bradbury Place, Huntingdon, was convicted of manslaughter and will be sentenced on 2 March.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-c ... e-64512139

I think that bad owl doll Grey pushed her off the pavement and should definitely go straight to jail for the rest of her natural life but she'll likely get out early because of having cerebral palsy and being a bit mad.

I do ride pavements a lot but if riding towards pedestrians on a narrow path I always get off and walk past. It also gives the pedestrian time to reflect if they are thinking of saying anything to me other than a friendly greeting as I will to them.

[mattheus]

Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist

A pedestrian has been found guilty of killing a 77-year-old cyclist who had "angered" her by being on the pavement.

Auriol Grey, 49, gestured in a "hostile and aggressive way" towards Celia Ward who fell into the path of an oncoming car in Huntingdon on 20 October 2020.

Peterborough Crown Court heard Grey had shouted at Mrs Ward to "get off the [expletive] pavement".

Grey, of Bradbury Place, Huntingdon, was convicted of manslaughter and will be sentenced on 2 March.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-c ... e-64512139

Wow! A very sad incident, with a very surprising court judgement. :-/

[thirdcrank]

Pedestrian Auriol Grey jailed over Huntingdon cyclist death

Grey, of Bradbury Place, Huntingdon, was jailed for three years after being convicted of manslaughter.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-c ... e-64824436

(Includes a CCTV clip of the incident)

[mjr]

I do ride pavements a lot but if riding towards pedestrians on a narrow path I always get off and walk past. It also gives the pedestrian time to reflect if they are thinking of saying anything to me other than a friendly greeting as I will to them.

The path was not narrow. It's wider than many of Cambridgeshire's cycleways. However, Nursery Road's signage is an inconsistent mess, there is almost no "positive instruction" for where people should ride to reach things like the medical centre where this incident happened, and the inability of the police to say whether that path was cycleway or footway makes me suspect that the related legal paperwork is also a mess.

I also suspect that you may be more like me, a near-6-foot white man in a big black coat on a big bike, than like the victim of the assault, a 77-year-old woman on a small-wheeled bike, so might be less intimidated by a verbal assault than the average town centre shopper, as well as less likely to be assaulted in such a fashion. Similar to how I suffer drivers jumping out blocking my way against priority at side road crossings around here far less often than some friends.

[thirdcrank]

Yes. This seems to illustrate what I've been trying to say elsewhere. This case isn't really about cycling at all, although a bicycle and some sort of pavement were involved.

I believe the basis of this case is that frightening somebody so much that their escape attempts result in their death may amount to unlawful killing.

[Jdsk]

I'm very surprised by the conviction for manslaughter.

We may learn more if the court releases anything, the most likely would be sentencing remarks.

And if there's an appeal.

Jonathan

[Bmblbzzz]

That case isn't fundamentally about cycling but cycling was the reason for the assault.

[Bmblbzzz]

Meanwhile, going right back to the start of this thread (and I or someone else might have said this before, but I don't remember it), the thread is badly titled IMO. Walking the wrong way? The pedestrians in question, whether walking with or against the traffic flow, are walking the right way – walking to wherever they're going. But some of them might be walking on the wrong side of the road.

[mattheus]

I'm very surprised by the conviction for manslaughter.

We may learn more if the court releases anything, the most likely would be sentencing remarks.

And if there's an appeal.

Jonathan

I'm surprised as well - but I would not say it is unjust. The accused's actions were understandable and yet still unreasonable; they resulted directly in the foreseeable death of a vulnerable older person.

In my mind the verdict was probably right, whilst the sentence seems very very harsh. But it's not my view that mattered on the day.

[Jdsk]

I'm very surprised by the conviction for manslaughter.

We may learn more if the court releases anything, the most likely would be sentencing remarks.

And if there's an appeal.

I'm surprised as well - but I would not say it is unjust. The accused's actions were understandable and yet still unreasonable; they resulted directly in the foreseeable death of a vulnerable older person.

In my mind the verdict was probably right, whilst the sentence seems very very harsh. But it's not my view that mattered on the day.

Which category of manslaughter do you think was proved?

Thanks

Jonathan

[thirdcrank]

The current CPS Guidance is here - scroll down to Unlawful Act Manslaughter.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/h ... Toc3812588

It's summarised thus:-

The offence is made out if it is proved that the accused intentionally did an unlawful and dangerous act from which death inadvertently resulted.

A more detailed explanation follows that.

[mattheus]

I'm very surprised by the conviction for manslaughter.

We may learn more if the court releases anything, the most likely would be sentencing remarks.

And if there's an appeal.

I'm surprised as well - but I would not say it is unjust. The accused's actions were understandable and yet still unreasonable; they resulted directly in the foreseeable death of a vulnerable older person.

In my mind the verdict was probably right, whilst the sentence seems very very harsh. But it's not my view that mattered on the day.

Which category of manslaughter do you think was proved?

Thanks

Jonathan

I honestly haven't looked in that much detail - I'm just giving my gut reactions. As a concerned citizen with no say in the process often does! You are welcome to educate me

[Jdsk]

The current CPS Guidance is here - scroll down to Unlawful Act Manslaughter.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/h ... Toc3812588

It's summarised thus:-

The offence is made out if it is proved that the accused intentionally did an unlawful and dangerous act from which death inadvertently resulted.

A more detailed explanation follows that.

Do you know that it was that category?

If it was do you think that the unlawful act was assault?

Thanks

Jonathan

[thirdcrank]

Do you know that it was that category?

If it was do you think that the unlawful act was assault?

I only know what's in the BBC link. I'm assuming it was unlawful act manslaughter because it's the only form of the offence I can see being appropriate in these circumstance. Presumably, the unlawful act was some form of threat or assault.

There doesn't seem to have been much reporting of the proceedings. The only thing which surprises me a bit is that juries sometimes seem reluctant to convict of manslaughter - perhaps because it sounds so gruesome. I've suggested before that it might usefully be renamed "unlawful killing" which juries seem comfortable with.

So, I assume that the basis of the prosecution was that the defendant's behaviour caused this elderly victim to fall into mortal danger. The defendant didn't intend the death of the victim, but you don't need a lot of NVQs to see that this carriageway was a dangerous place to be.

The circumstances might be a bit more obvious if somebody jumped out of an upper storey window but it's the same idea