Overview
- Stokoe, sentenced Friday at Newcastle Crown Court, received six years and nine months in custody with a driving ban of more than eight years and will start his term in a young offenders’ institution.
- Court evidence showed he was over the cannabis limit and riding an off-road Sur-Ron with only the left brake working while holding his phone in that hand, and dashcam showed no attempt to slow before the collision on the zebra crossing.
- The e-bike was uninsured and he had no licence, and CCTV captured him checking the scene, fleeing, hiding the bike, then later handing himself in after his mother took him to a police station, asking officers, “Is she dead?”.
- Relatives described Gloria Stephenson as active and much loved and urged tighter rules on powerful e-bikes, noting his bids to vary bail to attend a Wembley match and take a holiday deepened their distress.
- Northumbria Police urged the public to report dangerous riders and highlighted new tactics such as drones and unmarked operations to identify, follow, and seize illegal machines used on public roads.