Jail for driver who killed great-gran riding her mobility scooter on mercy mission

MUCH-LOVED 'MAR', 89, WAS ON HER WAY TO HELP HOMELESS MAN

- By MARTIN NAYLOR

A SPEEDING driver who weaved between two cars at almost 50mph before ploughing into a much-loved 89-year-old mobility scooter rider and killing her has been jailed for four years.

Nottingham Crown Court heard how Doreen Raynor, who had 13 children during her lifetime and was known to all as 'Mar,' was on her way to helping a homeless man when she was struck at speed by an Audi being driven by Rayner Middleton.

The great-grandmother, described by one of her surviving children as “the strongest person you could wish for”, died in hospital from the serious injuries she received.

A blood test carried out on 31-year-old mother-of-one Middleton showed her to be over the legal limit for a cocaine derivative.

Mrs Raynor's daughter, Melanie Frearson, read her victim impact statement to the court. In it she said: “Our mum was known to everyone as 'Mar' and she had 13 children in total - one of them was an abandoned child but she still took her in, which tells you about the sort of person she was. She suffered sadness and tragedy but, despite this, she was the kindest person. She did not judge another person.

“She would always say 'they are someone's child'. She was the kindest, caring, most giving and loving person and she was the strongest person you could wish for.

“When Mar died on March 4, 2023, a big part of us died too and I knew life would never be the same again. I feel anger that I have been cheated and won't have Mar to hold me and support me. I am haunted and have nightmares of seeing the fear in her face when the car comes towards her and I feel helplessness.

“Hearing the speed you were travelling when you hit Mar horrifies me, knowing how much impact she took. It feels as a family that as victims we are the ones who have continuously been made to suffer.

“I just want to hug her one more time. We are real people who are suffering in the background.