Driver jailed after reversing into 81-year-old pedestrian and killing her

Victim Ann Cassidy’s husband, Eric, said the collision had cost him ‘the love of his life’, while her daughters said they had lost their ‘best friend’.

Harrison Buckley, aged 24, of Pingles Crescent, Thrybergh, Rotherham, was uninsured when he reversed a Seat vehicle into great grandmother Mrs Cassidy as she was crossing Park Lane, Thrybergh, on May 27, 2021, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Laura Marshall, prosecuting, said Buckley’s partner Jordie Stokes, 27, also of Pingles Crescent, Thrybergh, lied to police at the scene by claiming that she had been the driver and had not realised what had happened.

Ms Marshall told the court the Seat was a mobility vehicle which Stokes had because of her grandfather’s disability, however Buckley had taken the car without permission. He later persuaded Stokes to go to the scene of the crash and lie on his behalf, she added.

Judge Rachael Harrison told Buckley: “Ann Cassidy was 81. Her loss has been felt physically and emotionally. No sentence I can pass will alleviate that.”

Ms Marshall said Buckley – who had been seen by police holding an open bottle of Desperados alcohol at the scene – was not breath-tested because it was not thought at the time he had been the driver.

The collision was initially deemed to have been a minor incident so Stokes was allowed to take her vehicle, according to Ms Marshall, but after Mrs Cassidy’s condition deteriorated she was taken to Rotherham District General Hospital where it was found she had suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain and she died the day after the collision.

Ms Marshall said after CCTV revealed a male had been driving the vehicle, Stokes admitted she had not realised Buckley had taken her car, that she had not been the driver and that she had attended the collision after Buckley had phone her.

Buckley attended a police station the following day, according to Ms Marshall, and he accepted he had been the driver after he had gone to buy cigarettes and pain killers.

Buckley, who has two previous convictions for 10 offences, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and to perverting the course of justice. Jordie Stokes, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.

Mrs Cassidy’s widower Eric, who had gone to the scene of the collision to find his wife injured, said: “Ann was my life. We did everything together. I miss her so much. I talk to her and see her everywhere in the house then I realise she is not there. I have lost the love of my life.”

Mrs Cassidy, who was also a mother, grandmother and great grandmother, was regarded by her daughters as their ‘best friend’.

Defence barrister Richard Barradell, representing Buckley, said: “He cannot believe how stupid he has been. He is bitterly disappointed in himself. He is very, very sorry for what he did. He has written a letter which encapsulates exactly how he feels about this.

“He roped his partner into this in the heat of the moment and he got her to say she was driving and he got her to take a breathalyser test. At the scene he had no idea how serious this was going to end up. By the time he was being interviewed by police a few days later he was full of remorse and full of apologies for the family.”

Mr Barradell added Buckley has been struggling to cope after his brother had been involved in a car crash and had died in his arms.

The court also heard at the time of the collision involving Mrs Cassidy, Buckley had needed painkillers because he had been suffering from the effects of an old assault which had involved two stab wounds and a bleed on the brain.

Defence barrister Andrew Pickin, representing mother-of-two Stokes, said: “Ms Stokes is deeply remorseful for her part in the offending and accepts it is a very serious matter and that she could face a custodial sentence.”

Mr Pickin added that Stokes’ grandfather had lost a leg and that was why she was registered to drive the mobility vehicle and at the time she had been scared that she might lose the vehicle.

Judge Harrison told Buckley: “You were in your partner’s vehicle without her permission and without insurance when you hit Ann Cassidy when reversing.”

She sentenced Buckley to 59 weeks of custody and disqualified him from driving for 29 weeks. She sentenced Stokes to six months of custody suspended for 12 months with 100 hours of unpaid work.