‘Loner’ pedestrian jailed for 3yrs over killing cyclist in pavement row has ‘temper but is not violent’, neighbour says
A “LONER” pedestrian caged for killing a cyclist in a pavement row has a “temper but is not violent” , a close pal revealed.
Auriol Grey, 49, gestured in a “hostile and aggressive” way to Celia Ward and told her to “get off the f***ing pavement”.
Shocking footage then showed the 77-year-old veering into the road where she was hit by a car.
She was yesterday jailed for three years after being convicted of manslaughter.
A source close to her legal team told The Sun Online how Grey is a bit of a loner who is partially estranged from her mum.
They added: “She has no one in her life to help and support her, just one friend who has his own family but has been given her lifts to court.
“It is a very sad situation to be in.”
The source told how Grey, who suffers from cognitive and mobility issues and is partially sighted, was hoping to be given a suspended jail term.
She has instead been left “shocked and devastated” by her sentence.
Grey lives in sheltered accommodation in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, near where the horror unfolded.
A friend who has lived in the same block for 15 years said she has a “temper” but is “not a violent person”.
He added: “I have never seen her be violent.
“She’s had arguments with her boyfriend, but she doesn’t hit people or get aggressive.
“She will not cope with prison. She needs a familiar environment and there will be violent criminals around her.
“I’m shocked. I can’t believe that she was charged with manslaughter. They should have considered her conditions.
“I think it is wrong and I am worried about her.”
Her mum Verna Grey told The Sun she has “spent years” trying to “sort out” her estranged daughter.
The 86-year-old said it is a “difficult situation” for her.
Vera added: “I am hoping everything is alright.”
The two women were passing each other on the street in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, in October 2020 when the horror unfolded.
Grey could be seen raising her hand as Celia cycled towards her on the pavement.
The retired midwife then lost her balance and staggered into the road in the path of an oncoming VW Passat.
Shockingly, Grey then fled on foot to Sainsbury’s to buy her shopping as paramedics were scrambled to the scene.
Celia’s sister Geraldine Jinks said the tragedy had robbed the world of a wonderful woman.
The 79-year-old, from Weston-super-Mare, added: “She would do anything for anybody and I think that came from her time as a midwife because she was always calm and collected.
“It’s a great loss to the family and not a day goes by when I don’t think about her.
“I can’t believe that someone would cause Celia’s death and show no remorse for what she has done – Celia was a wonderful woman and still can’t believe she’s gone.”
Grey claimed she felt “anxious” as the bike was travelling “fast” in the middle of the pavement.
She also suggested she could have lifted her hand “unintentionally” as Celia cycled towards her.
Although it is illegal to cycle on the pavement, the court was told police could not “categorically” state whether the street was a shared cycleway.
But sentencing Grey on Thursday, Judge Sean Enright said she was “territorial about the pavement” and “resented” the cyclist being there.
The court was told about Grey’s health issues but the judge told her: “These actions are not explained by disability.”
Judge Enright also slammed her “dishonest account in [police] interview” and said there was “not a word about remorse until today”.