Motorcyclist could not avoid crash as 4x4 crossed road

9:35am Thursday 4th September 2008

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As a Milford Haven man braked hard to avoid a collision with a 4x4, his motorbike was sent into an almost vertical rear-end wheelie.

Graham Spinks, aged 42, of 65 Milton Crescent, sustained multiple injuries following the accident on the B4325 road between Milford Haven and Waterston on Thursday, April 3 and died later that evening.

At an inquest held in Milford Haven last week, coroner’s officer Jeremy Davies said David Frost was driving across the road in a Mitsubishi Pajero into the splayed entrance of Wayside, Waterston when the incident happened.

Darren Paul Thomas, who lives at Wayside, said he was standing outside the entrance when he saw the motorbike braking hard around the bend, with its rear wheel almost vertical, before colliding with the back of the Pajero milli-seconds later.

Mr Thomas, who described the bend as dangerous, said it was only the back end of the Pajero which had not fully crossed the road at the time of the collision.

His evidence was confirmed by a witness who was standing next to him at the time.

Police accident investigator PC Richard Jessop conducted a detailed examination into the accident and said there was no evidence to indicate that Mr Spinks was travelling over the 60mph limit and no traces of drugs or alcohol were found.

PC Jessop estimated the impact occurred at about 30mph, but said it was impossible to estimate the speed of the motorbike as it rounded a bend in the road 86 metres away.

He said the Pajero would have crossed the road within 3.5 seconds and Mr Spinks would have had the same time interval to avoid the collision.

There were no defects on either vehicle.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Pembrokeshire coroner Michael Howells said the complex nature of the investigation had made it difficult to ‘disentangle the circumstances’.

He said: “Mr Spinks was unable to cope with the driving situation, which is not a criticism.

“There is no evidence the Pajero was recklessly crossing the road.”