Family of grandmother, 86, killed by teenage e-bike rider high on cannabis brand his sentence an ‘insult’ and demand tougher laws

The family of a grandmother killed by a young cannabis-addicted e-bike rider described the sentence as an “insult” and demanded tougher laws.

Billy Stokoe, 18, was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for causing the death of 86-year-old Gloria Stephenson, whom he knocked to the ground at a pedestrian crossing in Sunderland last year.

Dashcam footage shows Stokoe falling off the e-bike after colliding with the 13-year-old’s grandmother, Miss Stephenson, while she was walking her daughter’s dog.

After retrieving the vehicle, he sped away, leaving Ms Stephenson lying motionless on the ground.

The bike Stokoe bought from the Facebook marketplace was in poor condition, was not street legal and was prohibited from being used on public highways.

The young man was using a mobile phone while driving and was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the collision that occurred on May 16.

At Newcastle Crown Court Stokoe pleaded guilty to death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to six years and nine months in youth custody; this avoided the maximum sentence of 18 years.

He was also banned from driving for eight years.

Stokoe hit Ms Stephenson at a pedestrian crossing while illegally using an e-bike he bought from the Facebook marketplace last year.

Dashcam footage shows Stokoe falling off e-bike after colliding with Miss Stephenson while walking her daughter’s dog

Witnesses joined Ms Stephenson after the collision

Stokoe was walking up and down the road with his hands on his head, after turning back to look at Miss Stephenson lying in the road before running away.

Stokoe (pictured) was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison, giving him a maximum sentence of 18 years

Judge Robert Adams announced that Stokoe, now 19, will serve half of his sentence in custody, a total of three years and four months.

Now Ms Stephenson’s family have spoken out with outrage at what they believe are overly lenient sentences.

Julie Francis, one of Ms Stephenson’s four daughters, described the conviction as an “insult” to her mother’s memory.

Retired teacher Mrs Francis said: ‘Nothing will bring our mother back; We are aware of this.

‘But does the judge really think his life is worth a prison sentence of just three years, four months and two weeks?

‘He will serve half of his sentence in prison and then be released.

‘I think this is an absolute insult to our mother; To our entire family.’

Ms Francis, who recently appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss the incident, said her mother’s death was ‘incredibly difficult’ and a loss her family had not mourned because of the distress caused by the sentence.

He said: ‘We couldn’t even mourn for our mother, and we still can’t because we were so saddened by this decision.

Appearing recently on Good Morning Britain, Ms Stephenson’s daughter Julie Francis (pictured) said Stokoe’s sentence was an ‘insult’ to her mother’s memory

Ms Stephenson’s family did not mourn Stokoe’s death because of the distress his sentence caused them

‘Some days anger consumes you; the thought of our mother being murdered as she was and then left to die on the side of the road. He abandoned the car and abandoned her.’

Mrs Stephenson, a retired domestic services manager at Sunderland Royal Infirmary, was walking her daughter’s dog at around 1pm when the collision occurred.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Stokoe’s bike was in poor condition and was not road legal and he was three times the driving limit for cannabis.

Stokoe, who fell off the electric bike, then fled the scene and went to a friend’s house to hide the machine and change clothes.

He later returned home and told his mother about the incident. He took him to the police station to surrender an hour after the accident.

Ms Stephenson was seriously injured in the initial crash of the motorcycle and her family was immediately contacted by concerned witnesses.

One of her daughters arrived at the scene within minutes but unfortunately Mrs Stephenson died at the scene.

Ms Francis said: ‘The irony of this was that he had gone out of his way to use the zebra crossing and thought this was the safest way to cross the road.

Stokoe had been wandering around with a mobile phone in his left hand for half a mile before hitting Ms Stephenson.

Stokoe (pictured) cried after his mother took him to the police station to surrender

‘My sister’s dog was tagged so someone could call my sister. He lived in the area so he was there within minutes and was there when my mother was dying.

‘His son was with him and he had the inevitable task of phoning other family members to tell them what had happened.

‘Initially my partner told me that my mother had had an accident and that he had not had an accident.

‘I thought you were on your way; Someone had driven too fast, had a momentary loss of concentration and hit my mother.

‘It never occurred to me that this could happen under these circumstances; ‘An illegal cyclist gets out of his mind by smoking marijuana.’

Stokoe’s behavior as he approached the sentence that Ms Stephenson’s family had been waiting a year for also caused distress among her family.

Just 10 days after his arrest, Stokoe asked police if he could change his bail conditions to allow him to watch Sunderland in last year’s Championship play-off final at Wembley.

There was a similar request for a foreign family holiday that had already been paid for.

Miss Stephenson’s family say more needs to be done to stop illegal use of e-bikes

At an earlier hearing, Ms Francis said such actions proved she had ‘no remorse’ for the incident.

He said: ‘The judge said he felt Stokoe was remorseful but we know differently. A few days after he killed our mother he applied for bail to be varied so he could go to Wembley to watch Sunderland.

‘He was posting messages on social media trying to find tickets to the Halloween party. This shows no remorse or consideration for our mother or our family.

‘We can’t believe what happened here today, it’s so terrible.’

Now the family has said more needs to be done to stop the illegal use of e-bikes.

Ms Francis said it was ‘very difficult’ for them to even see such vehicles and that penalties for bike-related incidents should be tougher to act as a deterrent to others.

He said: ‘I reported it to 101 where possible. But nothing changes. It just brings it all back.

‘I’m sure some people buy them and use them legally for the purpose they were designed for: off-roading.

‘I’m not sure how the law could be changed; maybe they all have a starting point, off-road or not, they have to be registered with the DVLA and have a number plate.

‘I think if there had been a stronger deterrent maybe people wouldn’t have done this in the first place.’

Ms. Francis also added that parents are responsible for their children’s movement on the road on these bikes; He said Stokoe’s family was aware that he had purchased the vehicle.

He said: ‘Billy Stokoe is the one who killed my mother; His family knew he got his bike from Facebook and he admitted it wasn’t safe to ride.

‘Parents need to take some responsibility here.

‘Neighbors should see these young people with their faces covered in balaclavas leaving their homes on illegal bicycles and call the police.

‘But this message should have come from the judge.

‘He had a chance to give these people a really powerful message, more meaningful than anything I could say, but he missed an opportunity and that’s the saddest and most infuriating thing.’