Plea after superbike son's death
A 21-year-old Hednesford rider who was killed when his superbike was in a crash had only passed his test five months before, an inquest heard. A 21-year-old Hednesford rider who was killed when his superbike was in a crash had only passed his test five months before, an inquest heard. The distraught father of Alex Thomas has called for lessons to be learned from the tragedy. Alex, of Sandpiper Close, died on the A34 between Weeping Cross and Brocton in November. He was in collision with a truck before being catapulted into the path of a Skoda car driven by Simon Harvey, 17, of Heath Hayes, killing him instantly. Read the full story in the Express & Star.
A 21-year-old Hednesford rider who was killed when his superbike was in a crash had only passed his test five months before, an inquest heard.
The distraught father of Alex Thomas has called for lessons to be learned from the tragedy. Alex, of Sandpiper Close, died on the A34 between Weeping Cross and Brocton in November.
He was in collision with a truck before being catapulted into the path of a Skoda car driven by Simon Harvey, 17, of Heath Hayes, killing him instantly.
At an inquest yesterday, his father Anthony Thomas, of Rowley Close, Heath Hayes, told Coroner Andrew Haigh there needed to be a time delay in allowing young drivers access to what he called "super fast" bikes.
He said: "Alex had just passed his test in June but he was able to ride a super fast bike.
"With little experience of the roads he was allowed to buy a bike with more acceleration than most high performance cars. We need to learn lessons from that."
Coroner Andrew Haigh said that he "appreciated" Mr Thomas' comments but he could not ask the authorities to change their policies.
He recorded a verdict of accidental death.
