Lewis Turner inquest: moped rider "travelling at motorway speeds" on residential New Longton road and without fastened helmet before fatal crash

Lewis, 20, from Brindle Street, Chorley, was travelling along Wham Lane, New Longton, to carry out some work at his employers address on the morning of August 21, 2021, when he collided with a Ford Fusion pulling out of Station Road.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical cause of his death was given as head and chest injuries.

The road has a 30mph speed limit, but Preston Coroner's Court heard that Mr Turner's 125cc moped had been travelling between 66-69mph, had no insurance, and CCTV showed that when he put his helmet on, he did not fasten the chin strap.

Giving evidence, police collision investigator PC Jason Coalclough, who attended the scene, said: "The sight lines and the visibility were all good."

He added: "There was nothing with the the road surface or road layout that would have contributed. The sun wasn't a problem for either driver."

Both the car and the moped were free of any mechanical defect.

What happened to Lewis Turner?

PC Coalclough said that Ryan Young had been travelling to collect his grandchildren, and that CCTV footage showed his car came to a "virtual stop" two to three metres before the compulsory stop line on the crossroads. It did not fully stop before he made the decision to cross.

PC Coalclough estimates that Mr Young would have had a view to his left (the direction Mr Turner was travelling from) of around 30m, which would have been around 60m had he been closer to the stop line.

He said not stopping completely was "an inappropriate thing to do" and he would have recommended edging out of the junction, but none-the-less, said Mr Young would not have seen Mr Turner even had he had stopped at the line.

The officer said: "There was no reason for a driver to think that the motorbike is doing motorway speeds on a residential road.

"He said he looked and the road was clear."

CCTV footage shows that when Mr Young sets off across the junction, Mr Turner's bike was over 70m away - beyond the visibility of the junction.

The bike was travelling at an estimated 30m per second, meaning that Mr Turner had no time to take "realistic evasive action".

There is no evidence that either driver applied brakes.

What was the coroner’s verdict at the Lewis Turner inquest?

Coroner Richard Taylor concluded a verdict of Road Traffic Collision, stating a combination of excessive speeds and Mr Young's decision to proceed across the junction.

He said: "One of the tragedies of this is that Mr Turner shouldn't have been on the road."

PC Coalclough agreed, saying: "Yes that's right, sir."

Mr Taylor added: "Mr Young should have exercised more care, however, even had he seen the bike it's very difficult to estimate speeds."

Mr Turner’s family did not attend the court.

Mr Young was excused from attending on medical grounds.

Since the inquest, Lancashire Constabulary has provided the following information. None of which was said in the coroner’s court:

- Brian Young was prosecuted for failing to stop at scene and also failing to stop at a stop junction, he received a fine and year year ban.

- Mr Young wasn’t prosecuted for the RTC. The police sent it to Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for consideration for causing death by careless driving, but owing to the circumstances of the collision, it wasn’t deemed appropriate to prosecute Mr Young for the RTC.