Nottingham Post

Woman denies causing death of OAP in crash with mobility scooter

- By MARTIN NAYLOR martin.naylor@reachplc.com

A NOTTINGHAM woman has appeared in court where she denied being responsibl­e for the death of an 89-year-old mobility scooter rider in a crash in the city centre.

Rayner Middleton pleaded not guilty to causing the death of Doreen Raynor by careless driving while under the influence of drugs when she appeared at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday.

The 30-year-old, of Daybrook, will face trial having been charged with the offence, in the summer. Prosecutor Jon Fountain initially told the hearing that a trial date had been identified in March next year. But in reply, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC said: “That is too far away, this is a fatality case, you can’t make people wait that long.”

At that point, members of Ms Raynor’s family, who packed into courtroom seven replied: “Thank you.” Instead, Middleton, of Nelson Road, will be tried on August 5 with a time estimate of four days.

The judge handed the defendant bail until that date and told the victim’s family: “If I don’t deal with this case, my condolence­s to the family.”

Ms Raynor, commonly known as ‘Mar Raynor,’ died after being taken to hospital with serious injuries following a collision whilst riding her mobility scooter in Huntingdon Street on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

She was born in Stoke-on-trent but moved to Nottingham as a teenager and started working at Nottingham Children’s Hospital, followed by the Savoy Hotel, before she became a stay-at-home mum.

Paying tribute previously, Melanie Frearson, who is one of her daughters, said: “She was always popular. She was like a legend in St Ann’s and Sneinton , everybody knew her - you couldn’t go out and not get stopped by someone who wanted to speak with her.

“She’s always been a caring person, she’d take people in and look after them. She was looking after a homeless man up until she died, she took him to get some new clothes and a phone and they’d meet to have something to eat.”

Daughter Jackie Westwick, who had lived with her mum for nine years up until her death in the crash, said she missed her mother’s presence and wit.

“Her legs were getting bad, which is why she had the mobility scooter, but her mind was still all there and she had a dry sense of humour,” she said. “In the morning, out of habit, I still do the routine of opening her bedroom door saying ‘good morning’ and shutting it and saying ‘night night.’ She’s massively missed by everyone who knew her.

“She’d been through a lot over the years, she had a defibrilla­tor in and had heart problems, but the sudden way she went is what has upset us all. It’s not knowing about what is happening that is the hard bit.”

Ms Raynor’s son Carl Raynor said: “She had a good sense of humour. You wouldn’t get away from her if she started talking to you, and if you went out with her someone would always come and speak to her and you’d think ‘oh no not again.’

“She lost a lot of children - she had it rough and we always thought she was strong. We thought she would only ever die of natural causes because of what she had been through already. But what hurts the most is that she died doing a bit of shopping, you can’t prepare for things like that. I think the grieving hasn’t happened yet, it is really confusing. It’s the same for all of us.”

The grandmothe­r is survived by five children - two sons and three daughters.

Mourners grieved the loss of Ms Raynor at St Augustine Church, Woodboroug­h Road, St Ann’s, before she was laid to rest at Wilford Hill Crematoriu­m on Wednesday, May 17, last year.

 ?? ?? A framed photograph of 89-year-old Doreen Raynor was among the tributes left at the scene of the collision
A framed photograph of 89-year-old Doreen Raynor was among the tributes left at the scene of the collision

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