Alicia Celaya Jauregui was born in Uruguay and came from a large family. Photo: Supplied.
The family of a tennis coach from South America who died after she was hit by a speeding P-plater has expressed the “profound pain” they continue to endure due to her loss.
Ronan Jason Grey was just 18 when he crashed his car into Tennis Canberra coach Alicia Celaya Jauregui as she rode her bike on Lady Denman Drive in Canberra on 20 March 2024.
The 36-year-old was taken to hospital where she later died.
Ms Celaya Jauregui was generous, empathetic and always dedicated to helping people, the ACT Supreme Court heard when a statement was read out on behalf of her family on Wednesday (13 August).
“Alicia was an exceptional person, a great daughter, sister and friend,” a family spokesperson said.
“Her love for her family and friends was unconditional.”
She was born in Uruguay, had a large family, learned to ride a bike at the age of four, and then became a cautious and experienced cyclist, as well as a role model to her nieces and nephews.
Ms Celaya Jauregui moved to New Zealand to improve her English before moving to Australia, then began working in Canberra as a tennis coach in February 2024.
“This city received her with open arms and heart,” the family spokesperson said.
They said her passing left her family with “an immense, impossible to fill void”.
“Nothing can express the impact that this event has had,” the spokesperson said.
“The void will be there forever.”
The spokesperson finished with a phrase regularly used by Ms Celaya Jauregui: “Love in everything we do.”
Police on the scene after the BMW sedan collided with a cyclist on Lady Denman Drive on 20 March 2024. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Grey pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable driving causing death before facing court for his sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
The court heard that he was driving a car with bald tyres at 20 to 30 km/h over the 70 km/h limit, had overtaken a car over double lanes, and then lost control when he caused the crash.
The now-20-year-old, who has worked in hospitality and as an apprentice carpenter, read out a lengthy letter in which he outlined how he faced a difficult childhood and said he pleaded guilty to speed up the legal process for his victim’s family.
“I have absolutely no excuse for my actions,” he said.
“I’ll never be sorry enough for what happened on that tragic day.
“I never knew I’d be capable of this much damage in my life.”
He said he had been driving his car that day, which he knew wasn’t roadworthy, because he wanted to give a letter to a friend from whom he had become distant.
Grey admitted he had been driving dangerously, overtaking cars and speeding, before he remembered sliding on Lady Denman Drive and seeing two cyclists over his shoulder.
He said he lost consciousness in the crash before he woke up, got out of the car and was helped to the ground by a bystander.
“I can’t really explain the feeling of being responsible for someone’s death without knowing them,” he said.
“Her family now has a huge hole that can’t be filled and I have caused that.”
Alicia Celaya Jauregui is remembered by her family as “an exceptional person”. Photo: Supplied.
The court heard Grey crashed his first car when driving around a roundabout, before getting this second car, which he then crashed on Lady Denman Drive a few weeks later.
Also, he was stopped by police when driving in late November 2024 and allegedly found to have been drink driving by returning a blood alcohol concentration of 0.06.
Defence lawyer Jan de Bruin of Legal Aid said his client had made “a terrible error”. He was a young man who accepted responsibility early, had taken steps to deal with his mental health and had good prospects of rehabilitation, the lawyer argued.
He conceded there would be a sentence of imprisonment, but asked for it to be suspended from a later point in time.
Acting Justice Paul Slattery will sentence Grey, who was taken into custody on Wednesday, on 18 November.
