Fatal Smethwick crash biker had taken cannabis
A young motorcyclist who died when the bike he was on struck a lamppost in Smethwick had high amounts of cannabis in his system, an inquest heard.
Sandwell College student Suhail Yousaf, aged 18, of Oldbury, died after he was flung from the bike on the A457 Tollhouse Way/Soho Way.
Black Country assistant coroner Mr David Urpeth said results of toxicology tests showed 'high levels of cannabis' in his blood stream.
The hearing on Wednesday was also told the bike was removed from the crash scene by someone before being located by police and the helmet Mr Yousaf was wearing has never been recovered.
Pc Julie Lyman, from the West Midlands Police collision investigation unit, told the hearing when officers arrived the bike involved had been removed and replaced with another. She said: "From film footage of the accident Suhail died at the scene. For some unknown reason he has lost control of his motorcycle.
"It hit the street furniture. The helmet came off his head and the bike carried on through the junction at Soho Way."
Mr Yousaf's mother Sofia Noor told the hearing held at Smethwick Council House that friends of her son had told the police lies about what happened. And she denied that he was the owner of the motorbike.
Pc Lyman said police officers took a statement from one of Mr Yousaf's friends who said he'd sold the bike to him two days before the accident.
Ms Noor responded: "That is a lie. I am his mother. I would have known if Suhail bought a bike."
Mr Urpeth advised the family to take up issues regarding the police's handling of the case with the officer after the inquest and any concerns over the paramedic response times after it emerged that it took an ambulance around 25 minutes to arrive at the scene. He concluded that the 18-year-old, of Seymour Road, Oldbury, died as a result of a road traffic collision.
Following the crash, on July 18, floral tributes were left at the scene.
