A teenager riding an e-bike while under the influence of cannabis has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison after fatally striking an 86-year-old woman on a zebra crossing. Billy Stokoe, 19, killed Gloria Stephenson in Sunderland on May 16 last year.
Details of the Incident
Newcastle Crown Court heard that Stokoe was riding a Sur-Ron bike with a broken left-sided brake and holding his mobile phone in his left hand. Dashcam footage revealed he did not slow down or attempt to avoid Mrs Stephenson, who was walking her daughter's dog and aiming to complete her daily 10,000 steps.
After the collision, Stokoe was thrown from the bike but fled the scene. He changed his clothes and hid the e-bike at a friend's house before surrendering to police just over an hour later.
Sentencing and Legal Consequences
Stokoe admitted causing death by dangerous driving. Judge Robert Adams described Mrs Stephenson as a vulnerable road user on a pedestrian crossing who had waited for traffic to stop. In addition to the prison term, Stokoe was disqualified from driving for more than eight years.
