Woman whose conviction for killing neighbour was overturned insists her death 'was nothing to do with me'

A grieving family have expressed their relief after a coroner ruled out a loving mum-of-five suffered a medical episode before she was run over by her neighbour. Alice Gilchrist died after being hit by a car which was reversing from a driveway in Ashton-in-Makerfield on July 25, 2019.

Alice was walking from her home in Vicarage Road towards Warrington Road but was run over on her street by a reversing Volvo car being driven by Lorraine Lunt. Paramedics rushed the 86-year-old to Royal Albert Edward Infirmary but she was sadly pronounced dead just after midday.

Ms Lunt was found guilty of death by careless driving following a trial at Manchester Magistrates Court and handed a suspended 26-week prison sentence and banned from driving for two years. But the conviction was overturned on appeal last year at Bolton's Nightingale crown court.

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Ms Lunt gave evidence at an inquest into Alice's death, held this week at Bolton Coroner's Court, where she said the crash had ‘nothing to do with me’. However, senior coroner Timothy Brennand described her evidence as 'unsatisfactory' and her claims that Mrs Gilchrist had collapsed in the road after a medical episode as 'wishful thinking'.

Ms Lunt told the court: “I reversed out absolutely normally and there was no bump or sound. I turned the car but then it wouldn’t move forward which has not happened before.

“Someone was driving up the road at me mouthing ‘no, no, no’, she was waving her arms around so I got out of the car. She (Alice) was lying there unconscious but it was absolutely nothing to do with me.

"I don’t know if the heat got to her but it was nothing to do with me…the reason she was lying in the road was nothing