Biker ‘must have been affected by a medical condition’ before crash
A MOTORCYCLIST who died instantly when his bike collided with a motorway central reservation was “affected by a medical condition at the time,” an inquest heard.
Tony Hillard, 70, was travelling westbound on the M4 near Llandarcy on September 21 last year when his Yamaha motorbike was seen “veering to the right as if there was no steering input” before making contact with a metal barrier and hitting a lamppost.
Mr Hillard, from Saron in Ammanford, was thrown into the air following the impact and landed “motionless” in the outside lane of the westbound carriageway between junction 43 and 44, according to eyewitnesses. He was declared dead at the scene.
A number of motorists who witnessed the incident said Mr Hillard, who was travelling from Cardiff with his brother Alan, appeared to be driving within the speed limit and in a “non-erratic manner”.
An investigation by South Wales Police found no evidence of defects on Mr Hillard’s motorcycle and concluded that “speeding was not a contributory factor” to the collision.
Richard Thomas, who was driving behind Mr Hillard at the time of the collision, told an inquest in Swansea on Friday: “I was following two motorcycles ahead of me in the outside lane. The motorcycle in front of me drifted right from the outside lane and did not steer left [on a sweeping left-hand curve].
“He hit the central reservation for a distance before colliding with a lighting column and landing in the outside lane.”
Witness Adrian Newcombe, who was driving in front of Mr Hillard, said he saw the motorcycle collide with the barrier, adding that he noticed the rider had “both hands on the handlebars” at the time.
Mr Hillard was described as a “confident and accomplished rider”
by his wife, Marilyn, who submitted a statement to the inquest that said her husband had ridden bikes since he was 16.
“He had over 50 years experience in driving and passed numerous bike training courses to a high level and always rode his bike in a considerate and courteous manner.
“Tony knew that road like the back of his hand and he had ridden or driven it thousands of times,” she said.
Mrs Hillard added that her husband was a “fit and healthy 70-year-old” who was “always in a good mood”.
Painkillers within the therapeutic range were found in Mr Hillard’s blood during a post-mortem examination but were said not to be present at a level that would affect his ability to drive safely.
Assistant coroner Aled Gruffydd said: “Tony suffered traumatic injuries as a result of the collision.
“All eyewitness accounts confirm both men were riding sensibly and safely. As Tony negotiated a left turn bend his bike appeared to veer to the right as if there was no steering input.
“The collision provided traumatic injuries and Tony would have been killed instantly.”
Mr Gruffydd added: “This was not a particularly challenging section of the road.
“On the balance of probabilities I conclude there must have been some medical condition in effect at the time,” he said.
Mr Hillard was prescribed painkillers for a lower back complaint he had suffered for a number of years and he suffered a heart attack in the 1990s.
Consultant pathologist John Williams said: “Severe narrowing and hardening of coronary arteries and fibrosis of heart muscles indicated a previous heart attack.
“It is not possible to exclude the possibility of his experiencing arrhythmia prior to the incident but it should be noted the underlying heart disease did not take part in the physical cause of death.”
A conclusion of road traffic collision was recorded at the inquest with the cause of death given as 1a. multiple injuries caused by 1b. road traffic collision.