Pedestrian Who Swore at Cyclist Has Manslaughter Conviction Overturned

Images from CCTV footage of Auriol Grey (L) shouting and waving at cyclist Celia Ward (R), who fell in front of a car in Huntingdon, England, on Oct. 20, 2020. Cambridgeshire Police

A pedestrian who swore and waved at a cyclist who was riding on the pavement, causing her to veer into the road where she was hit by a car, has had a conviction for manslaughter quashed.

Auriol Grey, 50, gesticulated at Celia Ward, 77, and told her to “get off the [expletive] pavement” in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, causing her to fall into the road.

The incident on Oct. 20, 2020 was caught on one of the town’s CCTV cameras, and Ms. Grey was convicted of manslaughter after a retrial and was jailed for three years in March 2023.

But on Wednesday three judges sitting at the Court of Appeal quashed Ms. Grey’s conviction and her lawyers said she should never have been charged. They also rejected a request by the prosecution for a retrial.

Pedestrian Had ‘Impaired Cognitive Function’

Ms. Grey was born with brain damage and, as a child, underwent an operation which left her with a “degree of impaired cognitive function.”

Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mrs. Justice Yip and Mrs. Justice Farbey, said, “In our judgment, the prosecution case was insufficient even to be left to the jury.”

“In all the circumstances, we have no hesitation in concluding that the appellant’s conviction for manslaughter is unsafe,” she added.

Dame Victoria said Ms. Grey’s actions had “contributed” to the “untimely death” of Mrs. Ward, a retired midwife.

The Court of Appeal heard Ms. Grey was charged with unlawful act manslaughter, which requires an unlawful action to have taken place, leading to a death.

But her lawyers said no such “base offence” was ever identified at the trial.

Simon Spence, KC, representing the Crown Prosecution Service, told the court it was accepted as “common assault as the base offence was not identified by name.”

Asked by the judges what would have been deemed common assault, Mr. Spence said, “The walking towards the cyclist, the gesticulation with her left arm towards the road and the words, ‘get off the [expletive] pavement.’”

“Those words are capable of turning a gesture and nothing more into an unlawful act,” he added.

Auriol Grey (C) - who has had her manslaughter conviction quashed - leaving the Royal Courts of Justice in London on May 8, 2024. Victoria Jones/PA Wire

‘Inconceivable’ She Would Have Been Charged If Cyclist Hadn’t Died

The judges said, “Had Mrs. Ward not died we regard it as inconceivable that the appellant would have been charged with assault.”

Dame Victoria said the jury had not been asked to decide “the fundamental question of whether a base offence was established” by prosecutors, Ms. Grey’s former legal team, or in directions from the trial judge at Peterborough Crown Court, Judge Sean Enright.

In a statement issued by the law firm Hickman and Rose after the ruling and emailed to The Epoch Times, her legal team said: “Once the legal elements of the offence were properly understood, it was clear that there was no proper basis for Ms. Grey to be convicted of manslaughter, or indeed any offence. As a result, her conviction was quashed.

“Ms. Grey simply should never have been charged,” the statement added.

The statement said, “Misconceived prosecutions and wrongful convictions such as this cause untold pain to all those affected, including the family of the deceased, as well as the person wrongly accused.”

Hickman and Rose said neither Ms. Ward’s family nor the relatives of Ms. Grey “should ever have been put through this ordeal.”

Her lawyers said at the time of the incident that Ms. Grey “was walking slowly, with the road on her left-hand side, as she generally preferred to walk with the road on her left because she had no peripheral vision to her right and had limited use of her right leg and right arm.”

The statement went on to criticise the authorities in Huntingdon for failing to produce a safe environment for cyclists in the town.

Ms. Grey’s solicitors said, “Mrs. Ward should never have been faced with the choice between cycling on the pavement or cycling on a busy and dangerous ring road.”

“Had a clear and well-signed cycle path been in place, safely separating vulnerable pedestrians such as Ms. Grey, this accident would never have occurred,” they added.

Pensioner’s Death Was ‘Tragic Loss’

Ms. Grey’s family issued a statement, seen by The Epoch Times, which said, “Whilst we welcome the decision of the court of appeal our thoughts today are also with the Ward family and I am a sure a day doesn’t go by when they don’t remember their tragic loss.”

“We are very relieved that Auriol’s prison ordeal is over, and we would like to thank for the staff and inmates of HMP Peterborough for the kindness and consideration they have shown over the last year,” they added.

Ms. Grey’s family said: “There has been unnecessary and prolonged suffering and vulnerable people like Auriol need better support from the justice system. We hope lessons will be learnt.”

The Epoch Times has contacted Cambridgeshire County Council, which is responsible for highways in Huntingdon, but has yet to receive a response.

PA Media contributed to this report.