ARCHIE, 16, DIED MINUTES AFTER BUYING NEW MOTORBIKE
TEEN TRAGICALLY KILLED AFTER CRASHING INTO BARRIER
A 16-year-old boy was tragically killed after crashing his new motorbike into a barrier - just 30 minutes after buying it.
Archie Brown, of Bransholme, hit the barrier in Castlehill Road on the afternoon of April 11 last year, just weeks before his 17th birthday.
He suffered a severe head injury and died at the scene, Hull Coroner’s Court was told.
An inquest into his death heard that he had only just purchased the bike for £250 from a 14-year-old boy, who had only owned it for two to three weeks himself.
He then rode off towards Castlehill Road, where he planned to meet up with friends. Witnesses say they saw Archie wearing a helmet as he rode along the route at a speed of around 30mph.
“We were approaching the barrier when I became aware of a motorbike approaching from the opposite direction,” said one woman, who was on a bicycle ride with her daughter at the time.
“I suppose the noise of the bike first drew my attention to it. We came to a stop at the side of the track as we thought it would go past us.
“It was being ridden in the middle of the track and was going in a straight line doing about 30mph. He was wearing a helmet.
“I expected that the rider had seen the barrier and expected him to get off or duck down.”
A dad who was out walking with his two kids and their dog also saw Archie riding along the track. He also noticed he was wearing a helmet, adding that it was “possibly open-fronted”.
He said: “I turned back around and saw him put his feet down as he was approaching the gate and heard him shout something, although I could not make out what it was.”
Archie struck the barrier and a post-mortem examination found that he had suffered a severe head injury.
A friend of Archie’s, who went along with him as he purchased the bike, was walking up to Castlehill Road to meet up with him when he and group of friends were flagged down by a man who saw the collision.
In a statement, he said: “We saw this man who said ‘he’s been going 30mph and he’s hit the barrier. He’s unconscious.’
“I ran really quickly down the track and as I got near the bottom I saw him lying there. As soon as I saw him, I turned away. I couldn’t look back.
“An ambulance came and I had to leave as I couldn’t take it anymore. I still cannot believe he is gone.
“He was not daft. He knew how to ride and I know he would not try to get under the barrier at that speed.”
An inquest at Hull Coroners Court heard that Archie was not riding the bike in a dangerous manner and he was in “total control”.
The court heard that a fully operational bike would take up to 29 metres to come to a full stop but Archie could have only seen the barrier when it was 25 metres away from him.
It was also heard that the bike was in an “unroadworthy and dangerous condition” due to a fault with its headstock bearings and the rear brakes.
“Even with a fully operational bike he may have still hit the barrier, but he would have been going an awful lot slower by the time he hit it,” said forensic collision investigator Andrew Cross.
Steven Youngson, a senior collision investigator for Humberside Police, added: “The bike was in an unroadworthy and dangerous condition and was sold as an off-road bike.
“It is apparent that Archie did not make any mechanical checks or ask anyone to do so on his behalf. The barrier should also be considered as it was difficult to see due to it blending into the background.”
Archie’s parents, Stephen and Jane Brown, visited the scene of the accident a day after it happened and noted that the barrier would have been barely visible.
“I couldn’t see it,” said Mr Brown. “We went down there the day after and walked down and I literally could only see it because there was flowers on it.
“But, other than that, you could not see it until you were 20 to 30 metres away.”
Since the accident, the barrier has now been repainted yellow with Archie’s name pinned to centre of the gate between two love hearts.
Assistant Coroner Lorraine Harris concluded that Archie’s death was due to a road traffic accident.
She said: “The motorcycle was in a dangerous condition, but that was not known to Archie at the time he purchased it.
“I do think that once he had got home he would have looked over the vehicle and maintained it.
“Giving his nature, his personality and his interests, it would have been second nature for him to have a look to ensure it was safe.
“The vehicle was in a dangerous and unroadworthy condition and the barrier was very difficult to see.
“I believe Archie did not see that barrier until the last minute where the incident was unavoidable.”