Sunderland teenager jailed for almost 7 years for ebike crash which killed Grandmother
Billy Stokoe, who is now 19, hit Gloria Stephenson on a pedestrian crossing last May
Last updated 15th May 2026
A teenager will spend the next 6 years and 9 months behind bars - after being sentenced for killing a grandma with a banned electric bike in Silksworth.
Billy Stokoe, from Sunderland, was over the cannabis limit when he collided with fit and active Gloria Stephenson while riding an illegal and defective electric Sur-Ron bike on the road in Sunderland on May 16 last year.
He held his mobile phone in his left hand despite the left-sided brake being the only one that worked, Newcastle Crown Court heard, and rode for half-a-mile in that manner.
Dashcam footage showed 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 fatally injured on the crossing.
Stokoe was thrown off the bike but did not stop at the scene, instead riding off to change his clothes and hide the machine at a friend’s house.
The 19 year old, had pleaded guilty previously to causing death by dangerous driving, after colliding with 86 year old Gloria.
Police revealed Stokoe initially rode away from the scene, in Silksworth last May, after hitting 86 year old Gloria on a pedestrian crossing, while she was walking her dog.
But after a public appeal, the 19 year old handed himself into police later on.
Officers say he had been riding a black Sur-Ron electric motorbike - which wasn't registered, and therefore should not have been on the road - and had been holding a mobile phone at the time as well.
Judge Robert Adams said Mrs Stephenson was a vulnerable road user on a pedestrian crossing who had waited for traffic to stop for her and the dog.
Gloria's family paid tribute to her after the incident, saying she had "years left to give her love and share her energy and zest for life with everyone who knew her".
In court today, a statement was read out, written by Gloria's daughter Lisa Tench,
She said;
"Mam was lying in the road where you left her stripped of her dignity, her clothes cut off by paramedics trying to resuscitate her.
"To witness my mam lying there covered in blood, bruised and battered, with her right leg amputated below the knee, hanging on by a piece of skin, is something that will haunt me forever.
"I relive it in my nightmares. I relive it every time I see you in court."
Lisa added that her mam was fit and active and "didn’t deserve to die when she did, it was not her time".
She said she should have died peacefully in her bed surrounded by her family but instead died violently and suffering.
She added: "She didn’t want to die. She tried so hard to breathe.She had tears running down her cheek."
Lisa continued: "When most would hang their heads in shame, your initial concern was going to Wembley to watch the football.
"Then you went to court to try to get your bail restrictions changed to go on holiday, when we were bereft.
"You have no moral compass."
"You are not a victim of your circumstances, you are a victim of your own choices and behaviours.
"I will hate you until my last breath."
Mrs Stephenson was a mother of four, with 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, who had managed domestic services for a local health authority.
She 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 and 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.”
Eldest 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 last year 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 Stokoe had shown no remorse, although Judge Adams said he had seen evidence of the teenager’s regret and sorrow.
Michael Bunch, prosecuting, said dashcam footage showed Stokoe riding with his phone in his left hand prior to the fatal collision.
The 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.
Stokoe was also disqualified from driving for 8 years, 4 months and 2 weeks.