E-bike rider who ploughed into gran, 86, left her to die on zebra crossing

A teenager killed an 86-year-old great-grandmother when he ploughed into her on an illegal and defective e-bike at a zebra crossing.

Billy Stokoe, 19, was over the cannabis limit when he collided with Gloria Stephenson on the road in Sunderland on May 16 last year.

Mrs Stephenson, who was walking her daughter’s dog and trying to complete her 10,000 steps a day when she was hit, died at the scene.

Stokoe’s Sur-Ron bike was not street legal and only the left-hand brake worked – but Newcastle Crown Court heard he was clutching his phone in that hand and made no attempt to slow down.

He did not stop at the scene and rode off to change his clothes and hide the bike at a friend’s house while Mrs Stephenson lay dying.

Michael Bunch, prosecuting, said an expert who assessed the machine afterwards found ‘it would have been obvious to a careful and competent rider that the bike was not in a safe condition to use on the public roads’.

Stokoe was jailed for six years and nine months after he admitted causing death by dangerous driving

Mrs Stephenson’s family said she ‘didn’t stand a chance’ against the uninsured, speeding driver who was on drugs.

They also expressed their fury at Stokoe’s lack of remorse.

Despite his lawyer insisting he ‘will forever be sorry’ and the judge saying he had seen evidence of the teen’s regret and sorrow, it emerged he had tried to vary his bail conditions so he could go to watch Sunderland at Wembley and take a holiday.

One of Mrs Stephenson’s four daughters, Lisa Tench, addressed Stokoe in the dock and said in her victim statement: ‘You, on your illegal, defective bike. You, speeding. You, on your phone. You, under the influence of cannabis.

‘Mam didn’t stand a chance. You hit her with such ferocity that you catapulted her feet away from the crossing inflicting those horrific injuries on her and injuring my dog.

‘You drove off and left her there to die.’

Eldest daughter Julie Francis told the court: ‘Our Mam was fit and healthy, with years left to live a full and active life.

‘She had a zest for life that did not fade or diminish with age, she was vital and vivacious until the day you killed her.

‘Our Mam was a beautiful woman, looking good was effortless to her, in fact she was known as “Glamorous Gloria”.

‘But, much more importantly, she was a good person, with strong moral principles which she tried to live her life by.’

Helen Towers, defending, said the teenager was remorseful and had said: ‘I will forever be sorry and I don’t expect to ever be forgiven.

‘I wish more than anything that I could change it all.’

A psychological assessment revealed Stokoe had an IQ of just 66 and the court heard that he has ADHD.

He continued to smoke cannabis, even after the collision, to help him sleep, and the court heard he suffered from flashbacks.

Judge Robert Adams, sentencing, said: ‘The defendant will have to live with what he has done for the rest of his life.’

Outside court, Northumbria Police urged people to report dangerous e-bike riders.

Superintendent Billy Mulligan said: ‘Billy Stokoe wasn’t known to us, but I guarantee people knew that he was riding a bike in that manner and the plea from us to the public is, “Let us know so we can do something about it”.’

The officer insisted police will take action against the menace of young men on e-bikes and said the perception that officers will not pursue them was false.