Dad of 3 died when ‘highly modified’ bike collided with a van
A BELOVED father died after his “highly modified” motorbike collided with a van.
Aaron Tomlinson, 28, of Chaddesden, suffered catastrophic injuries when his motorcycle collided with a van on the A6, between Duffield and Quarndon.
An inquest into his death held at Derby Coroner’s Court heard that the dad-of-three had been riding along the road at around 7.30pm on October 24, 2018.
Sophie Lomas, assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, was told he had attempted to brake and swerve out of the way of a van that turned into Burley Lane, but the bike slipped on the road surface and carried him underneath the vehicle.
The driver of the van, Martyn Hurst, told the hearing he had not seen the motorbike before making the turn across the lane of traffic.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, Mr Hurst said: “I had given it a normal look. I looked properly, there were no lights. I looked up the hill, I looked back down the road again, then I made my turn.”
Mr Hurst said he could not remember there being any traffic on the road.
He said: “I just remember I was already into the turn and then it was as if I had gone over something in the road. I didn’t know what it was at the time. I thought I had damaged the van or ripped the exhaust off.”
Mr Hurst said it was only when he looked in his rear-view mirror and saw a person lying in the road that he understood something had happened, and stopped.
The inquest was told passers-by called 999 and that the motorcyclist was awake and responsive when they arrived. One witness said they heard Mr Tomlinson saying “help me” and that he felt sick.
When Mr Tomlinson was put in an ambulance his condition worsened and he went into cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at Royal Derby Hospital later that
evening. The inquest heard doctors said there was nothing that could have been done to save him.
Dr Stuart Hamilton, who performed the post-mortem on Mr Tomlinson, said his aorta – the artery that carries blood from the heart – had completely torn. He noted 21 separate injuries, with the most severe being the torn aorta and damage to the liver. The cause of death was given as a lacerated liver and aortic injuries.
PC Paul Moorcroft, a forensic collision investigator at Derbyshire police, told the hearing there were a number of factors that could have made it more difficult to see Mr Tomlinson on the motorbike. These included the fact he was wearing dark, non-reflective clothing, and the headlight on the bike was not properly fitted.
He said: “The headlight of the motorcycle was pointing to the road surface at a significant angle, much greater than would pass an MOT. The headlight fitted at the time of the collision was different to the one at the [previous] MOT.
“The vehicle had been highly
modified. The question as to the legality and road worthiness of the motorcycle has to be considered. It’s almost reinventing the motorcycle.”
PC Moorcroft said the headlights, suspension, indicators and other aspects of the bike had been modified by the previous owner, who had sold it to Mr Tomlinson. He added it should have been displaying L-plates, as Mr Tomlinson had a provisional licence, but these were not present.
He said glare from vehicles on the road on CCTV, may have impeded Mr Hurst’s vision as well.
He said: “It’s highly likely he was concentrating on the headlights of both cars as approaching hazards.”
However, he added that had Mr Hurst “allowed sufficient time for vehicles to fully clear” his field of view, he would have had more time to see the approaching motorcycle and take action.
“The simple fact of the matter is Mr Hurst said he didn’t see the headlight of the motorcycle, hence why the collision has occurred,” he added.