Teenage biker died in ‘tragic accident’
Thursday, 26 January 2012
A 16-YEAR-OLD who died following an accident in Carrickfergus last year was riding an off-road motorcycle that should not have been used on a public road, an inquest heard last week.
Carrick teenager Dillon Woodside sustained fatal injuries after his bike was in collision with a Mercedes van at a road junction in February.
The former Downshire High School pupil had overtaken two cars on the Barn Road prior to colliding with the van which was making a right turn into Elizabeth Avenue.
He was later pronounced dead at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. In a statement read out at the inquest last Tuesday, Dillon's father Philip revealed his son was diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome and Attention Deficit Disorder when he was eight.
He said the Woodside family had been left "completely devastated" by the teenager's death. He added his son always had an interest in motorsports, particularly dirt trail bikes.
Mr Woodside said Dillon had concerns prior to the accident about his bike's rear brake and had been pricing replacement brake pads online.
“It (the rear brake) wasn't working as well as it should have been working," he said. Dillon's father also revealed he had been "constantly thinking" about the back brake since the accident.
Forensic scientist Emerson Callender confirmed the motorcycle's rear brake was found to be "ineffective" due to wearing of the brake pads.
However, he said the loss of rear braking did not have "a dramatic effect" on the circumstances of the collision, but may have caused a delay in the subsequent application of the front brake.
Mr Callender said based on tyre markings on the road, he believed Dillon was travelling at a possible speed of 24mph prior to the collision.
Christopher Bond - the driver of the Mercedes van - confirmed he did not see the motorcycle as he made his decision to turn right onto Elizabeth Avenue.
“I heard a motorcycle when I started making the turn," he said.
Eyewitness Hugh Quinn, who was in his car at the Elizabeth Avenue junction, recalled the scrambler bike overtaking two cars before witnessing the rider "pulling hard" on the brakes.
Due to the heavy braking, both Dillon and the motorbike went down onto the road.
The driver of the car directly behind the collision, Joan O'Kane, said she noticed that the victim was not wearing any protective clothing, although he was wearing a helmet.
Having overtaken her vehicle and noticing the driver in front was indicating right, she said: "I didn't know where he was going to go."
Absolving Mr Bond of any blame in the incident, she added: "He shouldn't have been on the road in that type of bike."
PSNI Constable David Thompson said Dillon's motorcycle was not taxed or insured, and was "manufactured solely for off-road use".
He said: "The vehicle should not have been on the road. It was only for cross-country or private use."
Describing Dillon's death as a "tragic accident", coroner Suzanne Anderson found that the teenager died due to the "effects of a head injury which he sustained in the collision".
She said Dillon's parents had accepted that he should not have been riding on the road and that he had "paid a terrible price for it".
The coroner also acknowledged that the accident had been a "traumatic" experience for Mr Bond and for all witnesses.
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