Teen motorcyclist died in road crash
A TEENAGER who had been travelling at 78mph seconds before his death lost control of his motorcycle on a bend, an inquest has heard.
Luke Batters, 19, was killed when his motorcycle crashed in Whitson Common Road, Newport.
On Tuesday, an inquest held at Newport Coroner’s Court heard Mr Batters had completed a 4am shift at his job in Tesco along with girlfriend Ami Fox on December 28 last year.
The pair had agreed to visit Cardiff Castle with a friend later that day and Mr Batters had travelled to his girlfriend’s home.
The teenager, who had been on a gap year after taking his A-levels, decided to take his new 700CC Yahama motorbike for a ride.
In a statement read in court, Ms Fox said Mr Batters, who had a A2 motorcycle licence, had arrived at her home before her and had decided to go for a ride “around the block” while waiting.
The court heard the couple had been speaking to each other via hands-free Bluetooth headsets at the time of the crash.
Ms Fox said: “He stayed on the phone but I can’t say what we were talking about.
“I heard Luke say ‘oh f***’ and the line went dead. There was no sound after I heard him say that.”
During evidence read in court, cyclist Michael Barrell said he had been returning from the Newport Wetlands reserve when Mr Batters overtook on his motorcycle.
Mr Barrell, who said he believed the motorcyclist to be travelling at around 50mph, said: “He was sat very upright, there was no way he could ride very fast in that position.”
Mr Barrell said he had carried on the journey and rounded a corner when he found Mr Batters on the ground and his motorcycle “covered in grass” in a ditch.
Giving evidence in court, PC Antony Parker said CCTV from a nearby property and a police reconstruction had found Mr Batters, of Newport, to be travelling at around 78mph four seconds before the crash.
PC Parker said there was no sign of emergency braking and said the bike had been found in fifth gear.
In his statement, Mr Batters’ father Dudley Batters described his son as a “careful” driver who had been riding motorcycles for more than a year.
He said: “He regularly watched safety videos and watched one on the night before the accident. He was known by his family for not taking risks.”
During a post-mortem examination it was found Mr Batters, who had been wearing a helmet, died from multiple injuries caused by trauma.
A toxicology report found no trace of alcohol or drugs in his body.
Recording a conclusion of death by road traffic collision, senior coroner for Gwent Caroline Saunders said Mr Batter had “on the balance of probability” been travelling at speed in excess of the speed limit at the time of his death.