High speed Halesowen bike smash killed rider

But teenager Thomas Oakes' passion for bikes led to tragedy when he lost his life in a high speed crash.

The 19-year-old was killed when he came off his Yamaha 125cc bike and suffered severe head injuries.

He was riding back to drop his bike at his home in Halesowen before taking his mother Jenny out for the evening.

But Mr Oakes hit speeds of between 61mph and 73mph – more than double the speed limit – as he travelled down a steep section of Coombs Road, Halesowen at around 6.40pm on August 24 last year, his inquest heard.

He lost control and skidded off the road at the junction of Amber Way, mounting a curb and a grass verge.

A police road traffic crash investigator told the inquest at Smethwick that Mr Oakes' helmet was incorrectly fastened and came off in the crash.

The helmet was found nearby with his bike, buried in vegetation just off the road by a neighbouring industrial estate.

Black Country senior coroner Robin Balmain called Mr Oakes' death a tragedy as he concluded the inquest yesterday. He said the teenager's relative inexperience as a rider on the road and the high speed of the accident contributed to his death.

The inquest heard the rear wheel of the Yamaha bike, which could hit speeds of 75mph, had a slow puncture.

His girlfriend Stephanie Larway-Carter, who had known him for around two years, had voiced concerns over the condition of the bike.

She told the inquest: "When he first had it, he would be riding and as he went to stop the front wheel would jolt." But she said Mr Oakes' dismissed those concerns claiming it was due to the bike being new at the time.

Mr Oakes had passed his compulsory basic training bike test to allow him to ride on the roads, Smethwick Coroner's Court heard. Police crash scene investigator Pc Chris Clarke said Mr Oakes failed to negotiate the right hand turn in the road and entered a filter lane at the junction.

"The rider was inexperienced having only been riding for three months," he said.

"On approach to the collision site the motorcycle was doing a speed which was twice the speed limit of 30mph.

"If he had been travelling at 30mph in the filter lane he would have been able to stop."

CCTV images nearby were used by Pc Clarke to calculate the speed Mr Oakes was travelling.

Mrs Oakes described her son, of Philip Road, Halesowen, as 'very outgoing' and a 'joker' who would help anybody. She said he had owned a scrambling bike and a quad bike and bought his Yamaha bike three months before he died.

He also enjoyed sports like snooker and ice skating.

Mr Balmain said the cause of death was severe head injuries as a result of a road traffic collision. Mr Oakes had 37 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The drink drive limit is 80.

He concluded that death was due to a traffic collision, adding: "I'm afraid there is clear evidence from the CCTV that shows that he was going far too fast. It is the speed coupled with the inexperience that is the basic cause of what happened."