A e-bike rider who knocked down and killed an 86-year-old on a zebra crossing has been jailed for six years and nine months.
Billy Stokoe, 19, was over the cannabis limit when he crashed into Gloria Stephenson in Sunderland on 16 May 2025.
Stokoe was riding an illegal and defective Sur-Ron e-bike bike at the time.
Newcastle Crown Court earlier heard that he held his mobile phone in his left hand, despite the left-sided brake being the only one that worked, and rode for half a mile in that manner.
Dashcam footage showed that he did not slow down or try to avoid Mrs Stephenson, who was walking her daughter’s dog and trying to complete her 10,000 steps a day when she was struck.
Stokoe was thrown off the bike but did not stop to help. Instead, he rode off to change his clothes and hide the bike at a friend’s house.
open image in galleryHe handed himself in at a police station just over an hour later.
The teenager was jailed for six years and nine months after he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
Stokoe was also disqualified from driving for more than eight years.
Judge Robert Adams said that Mrs Stephenson was a vulnerable road user on a pedestrian crossing who had waited for traffic to stop for her and the dog.
She was a mother of four, with 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, who had managed domestic services for a local health authority.
open image in galleryShe died at the scene, having suffered a severe leg injury and cardiac arrest, despite the efforts of air ambulance specialists.
One of her four daughters, Lisa Tench, addressed Stokoe in the dock on Friday.
She 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.”
open image in galleryEldest 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.”
The family was angered by Stokoe applying in 2025 to vary his bail conditions so he could go to Wembley to watch Sunderland, and to go on holiday, although the court heard he did not attend the match.
They believed that Stokoe had shown no remorse, although Judge Adams said he had seen evidence of the teenager’s regret and sorrow.
Michael Bunch, prosecuting, said that dashcam footage showed Stokoe riding with his phone in his left hand prior to the fatal collision.
open image in galleryThe uninsured e-bike, which was not street legal, had no brake on the right-hand side as it was defective, with no brake lever.
Mr Bunch 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, knowing he only had one brake, should have been riding more carefully, the court heard.
The only operational brake was the left and Stokoe was carrying his phone in that hand, the court heard, and he should have been riding more carefully.
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 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 the public 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.