A coroner has recorded a verdict of accidental death on a motorcyclist killed in a collision with a Jeep at a crossroads in the west of the island in April, BBC News reported.
Gareth Jack Underwood, 37, was riding his Honda home to Ramsey by way of Kirk Michael on 15 April when the crash happened. At the inquest at Douglas Courthouse, coroner James Brooks found that Mr Underwood’s speed meant he could not have stopped in time. He offered his condolences to Mr Underwood’s family.
The inquest heard that Mr Underwood suffered lacerations and injuries to his chest and ribs. The coroner said the chest and rib injuries were fatal.
PC Richard Goldie told the hearing that a fixed mirror at the crossroads had been “displaced”. The mirror is there to help drivers where visibility is limited. He said this meant the driver and passenger in the Jeep would not have been able to see the motorcycle approaching from further away.
According to PC Goldie, the mirror had been working properly the day before. He said he believed another vehicle had struck it, leaving it angled towards the ground.
The officer said there were too many variables to establish how fast either vehicle had been going. He confirmed that the Department of Infrastructure was reviewing the junction.
Mr Brooks read out statements from witnesses at the scene. He noted that they described Mr Underwood’s riding in different ways, and said each account reflected the witness’s own style of driving.
The coroner accepted that Mr Underwood, a warehouse manager, was an “experienced rider and considered safe and courteous”, and that the route was one “he is comfortable with”.
However, Mr Brooks concluded from the evidence that Mr Underwood had been travelling at 70mph shortly before the collision. He said that speed explained why the Jeep’s driver had not seen him.
“At 70mph he would not be visible at the point that the vehicle had turned,” the coroner said.
He told the inquest that Mr Underwood braked hard when he saw the Jeep turning at the crossroads. The coroner said the motorcycle then began “wobbling”, a movement one witness had also described.
The Jeep had barely completed its turn when the motorcycle hit it, the inquest heard. Rider and machine went down near a wall and continued sliding along the road.
Mr Brooks described the death as the result of an unintentional act.
The coroner also thanked the members of the public who stopped to help Mr Underwood while he waited for the emergency services.
