A tragic case or a deserved sentence?

Was a prison sentence justified in this case?

  • Yes

    Votes: 43 58.9%

  • No

    Votes: 30 41.1%
  • Total voters
    73
Jonny Ingbar said:
Its a sad case, but I think it's justified.

Legally it seems she was entitled to be on the path as it was a shared cycleway just to clear that bit up.

But someone has lost their life due to another's actions and the prison sentence is in part due to to any lack guilty plea and expression of remorse - had she pleaded guilty she almost certainly wouldn't have been sent to prison.
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Wouldn't that just affect the length of sentence though and not the verdict of guilty/non guilty of manslaughter?

Whether she was the cause or not is what determines whether it was manslaughter or not. The sentencing range is then determined and she can be jailed for anywhere within that range (less for guilty pleas and showing remorse etc.).
 
Why is it that cyclists can't dismount while on a pavement when pedestrians are approaching?

Although she doesn't sound a very nice person I'd say she is possibly the vulnerable party here.
 
I've walked these paths many times. Shared cycle/ footpaths are a nightmare. There is enough width for 2 way traffic. But there is no designation of which way or side cyclists should be on/ pedestrians.

They are shared by commuter cyclists/ pedestrians/ families/ dog walkers. All of which potentially can get in the way of one another.

This case is tragic. There is no doubt the womans actions led to the outcome. The lack of designated pathways for pedestrians/ cyclists would stop this happening.

I bet the signage will change as a consequence around the area but pedestrians sharing a path with cyclists will be ongoing.
 
RedAsABeetroot said:
We still need to get our heads round cycling routes in this country. Shared paths seem to be the default solution and they're not great to cycle on especially due to the number of dog walkers and dogs either on very long leads or with no lead.
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I take my children on paths like these on bikes. It's carnage. You have pedestrians, dog walkers, elderly and infirm, people walking 2-3 persons side by side, locals on cycles going for groceries, commuters heading to the train station (granted most faster commuters stay on the roads generally). Then the paths that have trees and roots growing up through them, potholes and general debris.

I'm surprised how few incidents happen in reality.
 
Of course she caused her death, she waved her hand right next to her when she was close to the road. We’re talking about an old woman pootling along to the shops not a cyclist or young kids tearing about.
It’s just the modern excuse of a cnut to say they’ve got a disability or on some spectrum!!
A woman is lying dying/dead in the road……..and she fcuk off to Sainsbury’s? She got off lightly!
 
RedAsABeetroot said:
We still need to get our heads round cycling routes in this country. Shared paths seem to be the default solution and they're not great to cycle on especially due to the number of dog walkers and dogs either on very long leads or with no lead.
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100%. I was cycling along on the Fallowfield loop the other day during 'rush hour', woman with a dog on no lead leaping around and at least 10 cyclists having to slow down to walking pace make sure they didn't injure the dog. Its as if she thinks because its a shared space that means the dog doesn't need to be on a lead, it would be the cyclist who felt bad if they killed it.
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
Why is it that cyclists can't dismount while on a pavement when pedestrians are approaching?

Although she doesn't sound a very nice person I'd say she is possibly the vulnerable party here.
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She deliberately stepped into the way of the cyclist though forcing the cyclist to manoeuvre, it wasn’t n accident, it’s not like there wasn’t enough room for both of them,. She instigated an outcome due to an aggressive act resulting in the death of the cyclist.
 
Priv said:
She deliberately stepped into the way of the cyclist though forcing the cyclist to manoeuvre, it wasn’t n accident, it’s not like there wasn’t enough room for both of them,. She instigated an outcome due to an aggressive act resulting in the death of the cyclist.
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The footpath doesn't look wide enough to me for both. She's obviously an obnoxious woman but the cyclist must have seen she was cycling towards her and could have stopped and dismounted. You can't say that she stepped in front of the cyclist, there isn't enough footage to suggest it.
 
Should have been 10 years.

It’s clear as day from the clip that what she did caused the cyclist to swerve into the road.

The fact that she could see an old lady swerve onto the road and be hit by a car, then wander off to do her grocery shopping is unfathomable.
 
Millbrook said:
There did not appear to be any contact so how have you come to the conclusion that she was pushed onto the road?
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The media outlets have cropped the footage differently and I think it has an effect on the conclusions you draw.

eg the BBC have gone landscape & there are 3.5 curved loop tops on the railings visible next to the incident, pavement looks narrow:
1678107373911.png

Sky went for portrait but there are 4 full curved loops visible:
1678107560236.png

On the Sky footage it looks like she leans in, puts her left hand on the cyclist's arm & gives her a push:
1678108040789.png 1678108547386.png

There's no reason for the cyclist to leave the path at that angle/speed otherwise. It isn't an amazing piece of shared use infrastructure but even by the signpost it is wider than a car, so plenty of room for a couple of people to get past each other without 1 person falling into the road.
1678108251139.png

news.sky.com

Woman who caused cyclist to fall into road in Huntingdon jailed for manslaughter

Police say Auriol Grey's actions were "totally disproportionate" and caused the retired midwife's "untimely and needless death".
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
The reality is, if she had just stuck around or even displayed an ounce of compassion or remorse after the event, rather than tottering off to get her bread and milk in, then she'd have received a suspended sentence at worst. Her actions, which were disproportionate and needlessly aggressive (regardless of whether the cyclist was in the wrong or not being on the path) directly contributed to someone dying.

Her disabilities, as outlined in the judgement, had no barring on her actions. Clearly a vile individual and I have no sympathy for her.
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
The footpath doesn't look wide enough to me for both. She's obviously an obnoxious woman but the cyclist must have seen she was cycling towards her and could have stopped and dismounted. You can't say that she stepped in front of the cyclist, there isn't enough footage to suggest it.
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The judge said that it was a shared cycle path / footpath. So therefore the cyclist must have been entitled to be there.
 
1finny said:
If they cyclist had been hit and killed by a careless motorist….. the motorist would have received a lesser sentence.

That’s the odd bit for me
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Its hard to draw parallels. The actions of the angry pedestrian are quite foreseeable. I have had kids shout at me suddenly and unexpectedly whist cycling and my natural reaction was to swerve away from them. - thankfully not into the path of an oncoming car.

This is not the same as being run over by a motorist that took their eyes off the road for a few seconds - in such a case any sentence would rightly be lower.
 
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