Hit-and-run driver who left a great-grandmother, 81, to die when he struck her with his Range Rover after she collapsed at the roadside on Christmas Day is spared a driving ban
- Lilian Conroy was run over after she collapsed on December 25, 2021 in Bolton
- Businessman Paul Greenslade crushed her with his Range Rover and drove off
- Mrs Conroy’s family say they have been ‘let down’ by Greenslade’s sentence
The family of a ‘beloved’ great-grandmother killed on Christmas Day by a hit-and-run driver have said they have been ‘let down’ after he received a community order over the tragedy.
Businessman Paul Greenslade, 64, ‘showed no remorse’ when he left 81-year-old retired carer Lilian Conroy to die, after crushing her to death with his Range Rover when she collapsed at the roadside on December 25, 2021.
In the moments before the tragedy, another driver had stopped to help Mrs Conroy at the roadside but Greenslade overtook and ran over the widow before driving away without stopping. He later claimed he never saw her.
Greenslade, of Bolton, has since been sentenced to 40 hours of community service and was given eight points on his licence – but was spared a driving ban, meaning he will be allowed back on the roads.
News of his sentence has outraged Mrs Conroy’s grieving family, who were ‘disappointed’ by the result. ‘The driver showed no remorse or sympathy for what he has done,’ they said in a statement. ‘Eight points and 40 hours community service does not justify what he has done and taken from us.
Just 50 minutes before the tragedy, Lilian Conroy, 81, had been saying goodbye to her daughter after spending Christmas Day with her. Mrs Conroy is pictured
Greenslade, 64, ‘showed no remorse’ when he left retired carer Lilian Conroy to die in after crushing her to death with his Range Rover, say the family of the 81-year-old pensioner
‘We feel let down with the result but would like to thank the police for all they have done and for all their help and support over the last 18 months.’
The tragedy occurred on Christmas Day 2021 at 7.05pm, after Mrs Conroy had gone out for a walk near her home in Over Hulton, Bolton.
Police said the pensioner had been crossing Newbrook Road, Over Hulton, when she collapsed at the roadside.
A driver had stopped to help the great-grandmother but a second vehicle driven by Greenslade then struck Mrs Conroy while trying to overtake the first car, Wigan Magistrates’ Court heard.
Mrs Conroy’s daughter Janet Carr told the court: ‘Christmas Day started as normal, with our mum. She was a lovely lady, with four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She loved her dog Mitsy and was often seen walking her around the local area.’
Lilian Conroy, 81, died when she was run over by businessman Paul Greenslade after she collapsed at the roadside in Bolton on Christmas Day 2021
‘On Christmas night I was awoken by two officers standing at my front door telling me my mum had died. I had left her waving out of the door at 6.15pm, she died only an hour later.
‘My last words to her were: “I will see you tomorrow” and then telling her to go inside as it was too cold on the doorstep.
‘Calling my brother and sons and telling them the news was devastating, they had only left her a short time before. We had visions of her being cold and lying on the floor, not knowing what happened.’
Mrs Conroy was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital but was pronounced dead with a post-mortem examination concluding she suffered chest injuries.
Mrs Carr said the loss of her mother had devastated the entire family. She added: ‘She was our mum and did not deserve this. It is a horrible death. It left a massive void, Christmas will never be the same without her.’
Greenslade, was arrested at his home a short time after the fatal crash. In May 2022, he was charged with failing to stop, and on May 3, 2023, a trial found him guilty.
However, Mrs Carr says she is ‘struggling to understand’ why he never stopped after running over her mother – as she claimed Greenslade still had not apologised for the tragedy.
‘Christmas became a very painful time of year for our family. It is now over 12 months without even an apology from the driver. We have lost her in this very tragic way and will never get over it,’ she told magistrates.
‘There was no attempt to stop at the scene, he saw the car in front and went around the car with no consideration as to why it was stopped in the road.’
Greenslade, who ran a firm which manufactured office and shop furniture, denied wrongdoing but was convicted after a trial.
His lawyer Peter Grogan said: ‘The accident has been extremely traumatic to the defendant. However, he doesn’t wish to detract from the trauma felt by Mrs Conroy’s family.
‘If he was given an opportunity at this stage, he would have apologised in person and has told me to pass on his apology to the family.
‘This was a failure to stop case and there was no evidence of bad driving. It is therefore a tragic, but unusual case.’
Sentencing District Judge Margaret McCormack told Greenslade: ‘No one sentence that I impose will make up for the loss of a loved one. I am aware of the manner of the loss of that lady and the effect it has had on the family.
‘Your solicitor said you honesty did not see the lady when you passed. However, this is not about the manner in which you drove, it was about the decision-making you made on that evening.’
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