Family of Sunderland cyclist killed by drink-driver left appalled by treatment at court hearing

Ali Reza Ghaisar suffered catastrophic injuries when he was hit by a car driven by 44-year-old Vicky Hardy in July 2022.

Hardy had drunk five pints and a measure of spirits before deciding to drive back to her home in Helmsdale Road, Ford Estate, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Hardy, who admitted causing death by dangerous driving, was jailed for six year at a hearing earlier this month.

But Mr Ghaisar’s family say they were given just 30 minutes to draft a statement outlining the impact of his death - despite having drafted one at the time and been repeatedly assured by police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) it was acceptable.

His sister-in-law Rachael said: “We feel that the whole court case was a bit of a shambles.

“We had a family statement prepared to read, which was taken two years ago . It went to the police and the CPS, and the CPS said it would be fine.

“But on the day, we were told we could not use it and what was eventually read out was what I had composed in about 30 minutes

“It did not really reflect what we felt. I just felt there was no respect for us as a family when we turned up there to be told we could not read that statement out.”

The family was also concerned that Hardy’s family was sat directly behind them in court and unhappy that her sentence had been reduced in light of her guilty plea.

Mr Ghaisar’s brother Gholam said he thought the way the family had been treated was ‘really, really bad.

“It just felt like we were made to feel like we were nobody,” he said.

“They had had the statement for two years and even though it had been passed between the police and CPS, they said it was no use.”

A CPS spokesperson said: “Shortly prior to the sentencing of this case, the CPS were made aware by the Judge that a document previously submitted to the court on behalf of the victim’s family would require substantial editing to be admissible under the national guidelines for victim personal statements.

“To ensure that the most relevant views of the victim’s family were appropriately presented to the court, the assigned CPS prosecutor assisted them in producing a guidance-compliant victim personal statement, which was then submitted to the court on their behalf.”