Sheila Kewley was described as “a very kind lady who never judged anyone”
19:48, 13 May 2025Updated 20:44, 13 May 2025
Police at the scene at the junction of Bebington Road and Old Chester Road in Bebington
The devastated family of a “very kind” nan “never got to say goodbye” after she was knocked down and killed while crossing the road on her way to Aldi.
Sheila Kewley, 67, from Heswall, was struck by a black Renault Kadjar as she crossed Bebington Road at the railway bridge, close to Bebington station, with her husband at around 9.10am on June 22, 2022.
The mum-of-three was “clipped” by the car as it turned left off Old Chester Road, causing her to fall to the ground and hit her head. She was taken to Aintree University Hospital, where a CT scan revealed she had suffered a brain haemorrhage.
She was transferred to the Walton Centre, where she was intubated and underwent a right-side craniotomy on July 8. But her condition deteriorated, and she died of a traumatic brain injury on July 18, 2022.
At her inquest today, May 13, her daughter Jayne Kewley-Jones said: “She was the best mum ever, that’s all I can say. She worked hard and made sure on Christmas and birthdays we were absolutely spoilt rotten. We had lovely holidays.
“I have a brother and a sister, and she has six grandchildren, and she absolutely adored every one of them. When the grandchildren came along, she would look after them while I was working, and she was brilliant.
“She never judged anyone. She was a very kind lady who never judged anyone. Where other people are content to have little comments about others, Mum would never say anything about anyone.”
The court heard Mrs Kewley and her husband, James, had been crossing the road a short distance away from the pedestrian crossing at the time of the tragic accident. The traffic lights were on amber at the time the Renault drove through, having been on green just moments before.
In a police interview, the driver of the Renault, 45-year-old Helen Clayworth, said she had not noticed the elderly couple crossing the road until it was too late.
She said: “I slowed down, I slowed down so I got time to see. I know I did my checks properly, but you can’t see around corners, it’s impossible. I slowed down, I didn’t razz around or anything, not that I do much razzing.
“I’m telling you I seen them at the last second. That’s when I seen them. I don’t drive around with my eyes closed. I do not. When I seen them it was at the last second.”
CCTV footage showed Ms Clayworth travelling between 28 and 32mph on the 30mph road as she approached the junction some 20m away.
Witnesses gave varying opinions as to her speed as she went through the traffic lights and turned the corner onto Bebington Road. Some reported the car was travelling at a normal speed, while others said they thought the driver was driving excessively in an attempt to “beat the traffic lights”. Ms Clayworth said “I was only doing about 15mph.”
Merseyside Police forensic collision investigator Paul Clarke said it was “hard to say” what her speed was but confirmed there was “no positive evidence” she had been driving excessively.
Ms Clayworth, of Beta Close in New Ferry, was charged with causing death by careless driving. But the charge was later dropped after investigators agreed she had not seen Mrs Kewley on the road, partially due to the dark shadow cast by the railway bridge.
Handing down a conclusion of death by road traffic collision, coroner Anita Bhardwaj said: “We know the collision occurred on Bebington Road and it was almost directly under the railway bridge at the station. What we do know is the whole of the junction is controlled by the traffic signals and we have heard there are some pedestrian points, and when the lights are on red for the vehicles then there is the opportunity for pedestrians to cross
“The weather at the time was clear and dry, the visibility good, and there was nothing to suggest that anything has caused or contributed to the collision in terms of the weather, the road or vehicle. However, there was a shadow cast across the carriageway by the railway bridge.
“We know James and Sheila were walking along Bebington Road, the Renault was travelling on Old Chester Road, approaching the jucntion with Bebington Road, and the approximate speed given 20m from the junction was 28-30mph.
“CCTV does show as she is approaching the junction, just before crossing, the lights have turned amber, and it may not have been appropriate for her to stop at that point. She continued turning left and that’s when she has collided (with Sheila).
“It can’t be said for certain that she would have seen Sheila as she turned the left-hand bend into the area under that bridge because of the factors of dark clothing, the shadow and the bend itself.”
Jayne said: “The accident that day, I will never forget. I remember being really happy that day. It was about 9.10am I got a phone call from a stranger on Mum’s phone, saying Mum had had an accident. I work in education; we were just about to break up, and I thought she’ll be in a wheelchair all summer. That’s what I thought.”
She said she went to Arrowe Park Hospital but was told her mother was not there. She then received a call from her brother telling her her mother had been taken to Liverpool.
She said: “I just remember still remaining really calm. We went to the hospital and dad was there, and were were satin a room and staff said we could come through and see her.
“Mum was clearly distressed. I was going ‘Come on mum, it’s OK’ and we calmed her down and she was responding. She knew she was in hospital and she had had an accident.
“Then literally within 24 hours. We visited the next day; she was transferred to the Walton Centre. It was Covid-19 regulations, but we were all allowed to visit. She had spoken to my dad, but when I went in with my sister, she never spoke.
“I left the hospital and rang my brother and said, ‘was mum speaking?’ and he said yes, and I said she never spoke. I never heard my mum speak again. Never. I never got a chance to say goodbye.
“My children never saw her. My daughter was taking her GCSEs, and I couldn’t tell her until after her last GCSE how serious it was. We never got to speak to her or say goodbye; we never spoke about her funeral because she was a fit, well lady.
“Obviously she passed, and we have had things since. My daughter turned 18, my nephew turned 18, I have recently celebrated my 50th birthday, and she should still be here. It’s hard. It is.”