Posted on the 18th February 2026 in PHTM News

CABBIE SPARED JAIL AFTER RUNNING OVER WOMAN LYING IN ROAD SHE MISTOOK FOR A BLACK BAG

A taxi driver who struck and killed a woman lying in the road has avoided an immediate prison sentence.

Lucy Stolzenberg, 74, was driving four passengers when she ran over 58-year-old Rhian Cassidy in Caerau after failing to realise the figure in the road was a person.

Ms. Cassidy had fallen into the road 10 minutes earlier and had lay there unconscious prior to the incident, which left her with catastrophic injuries and 31 fractures.

As Stolzenberg's taxi was driving down Caerau Road, a man put his arm out in an attempt to notify her of the victim in the road, an action that was seen by one of her passengers.

During a sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court, it was revealed that Stolzenberg’s passengers felt a "big bump" as though the taxi had hit an object, causing the three rear passengers up in the air out of their seats.

The passengers urged her to stop, but the driver continued for 20 metres before shouting "Oi, get back in the car" to a passenger who tried to check the scene.

The pas­sen­ger got back in and the taxi drove off, with Stolzen­berg mak­ing two stops to drop off her pas­sen­gers. Dur­ing the last jour­ney, she avoided Caerau Road, which her pas­sen­ger found “strange”.

Stolzenberg later told police: "I thought I saw a black bag in the road," adding: "I didn't knock her down, I didn't even see her in the road." 

An investigation found that the victim would have been visible from 35 metres away, giving a driver ample time to "react and stop safely." 

Despite this, Stolzenberg was quoted by a passenger as later saying: “We didn’t see anything did we?” 

The victim’s nephew, Mathew Cassidy, told the court the family held no malice but remained haunted by the tragedy.

He addressed the defendant directly, asking: "Why didn't you stop?" 

Stolzenberg, who has since been diagnosed with PTSD and is "racked with remorse," pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and failing to stop fol­low­ing a road col­li­sion. The court heard she has no pre­vi­ous con­vic­tions.

Stolzen­berg was sen­tenced to 22 weeks impris­on­ment, sus­pen­ded for 12 months.

She was also given a 20-day rehab­il­it­a­tion activ­ity require­ment, ordered to pay £150 in costs and was dis­qual­i­fied from driv­ing for 18 months.

She will no longer drive or work as a taxi driver.


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