Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian killed cyclist, 77, court hears

Celia Ward and her husband David, pictured left, married in 1967

A pedestrian killed a 77-year-old cyclist who had "angered" her by being on the pavement, a court has heard.

Auriol Grey, 49, has been accused of gesturing in a "hostile and aggressive way" towards Celia Ward, who fell off her bike into the path of a car in Huntingdon on 20 October 2020.

Peterborough Crown Court heard Ms Grey had told Mrs Ward to get off the pavement, using an expletive.

Ms Grey, of Bradbury Place, Huntingdon, denies manslaughter.

Opening the prosecution's case, Simon Spence KC said the pair had been travelling down opposite directions of the Cambridgeshire town's ring road that afternoon.

He said jurors would hear from Mrs Ward's husband who said his wife was an "experienced and competent cyclist".

CCTV footage

Mr Spence said the incident was captured on CCTV footage which included sound recording, and prior to Mrs Ward coming off her bike Ms Grey can be heard shouting "get off the [expletive] pavement".

The prosecutor claimed the defendant was "angered by the presence of a cyclist on a footpath".

He said while it was unclear from the footage if there was any physical contact, Ms Grey "gestured in a hostile and aggressive way towards" Mrs Ward, causing her to fall off the bike and into the road where she was hit by an oncoming car.

Jurors, who were shown the CCTV footage, heard the car had "no chance to stop or take avoiding action".

Mr Spence said Mrs Ward was not wearing a helmet but "even if she had have been nothing would have saved her life given the injuries she sustained".

The court heard Ms Grey left the scene prior to emergency services arriving and went to Sainsbury's where she bought groceries.

She was arrested the following day and, in police interview, described a pedal cycle travelling at "high speed" and said she "flinched out with her left arm to protect herself".

The court heard the defendant has cerebral palsy, significant eye sight issues and told police she did not consider she had any mental disability.

The trial continues.

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