Biker hit lorry

A MOTORCYCLIST from Uckfield was killed in a head-on collision with a lorry after apparently trying to overtake a bus, an inquest heard.

Roger Harvey, 58, of Olives Meadow, died in March this year when his red Ducatti 850 collided with a 7.5 tonne scaffolding truck being driven by Timothy Jones of Bognor Regis.

The accident happened on a notoriously tight bend on the B2102 at Bird in Eye Hill. The inquest heard that Mr Harvey, who was on the wrong side of the road at the time of the accident, may have tried to cut the corner after incorrectly believing the opposite carriageway was clear.

Mr Harvey, who was a teacher in Tunbridge Wells, suffered severe head injuries as a result of the collision.

The driver of the bus, Robert Cain, of Bexhill-based Renown Coaches, said he had negotiated the first, left hand bend on the road at around 20 to 25 miles per hour and was about to enter the second, right hand bend when he saw Mr Jones' lorry approaching as it travelled east towards Framfield.

Spinning

He said: 'Immediately after the lorry passed me, I heard this dull thud. I could see a motor bike lying in the centre of the road, spinning.'

Elizabeth Stoneham, of Leeds Lane, Five Ashes, was driving behind the bus in a silver Mazda. She said: 'I turned left and then a very sharp bend right. That's when I first became aware of a motorcyclist on my blind side.'

She said she screamed 'Oh my God'. 'He overtook me and I believe he was trying to overtake the bus, but it was completely blind. You can't see anything from that bend.'

Richard Flagg, of Blackboys Nursery, was travelling behind Mrs Stoneham. He said the Ducatti overtook him as he was approaching the right hand bend, and added: 'It was a rather odd manoeuvre as, with other parts of that road, it was quite tight. There was no way I would have overtaken at that point.

'He overtook me, overtook Mrs Stoneham and went to overtake the bus but the building vehicle came the other way. He never had a hope.'

Mr Jones said: 'The bus was coming towards me. It was pretty tight and we were both slowing down as we approached the bend. Then I saw the rider of the motorcycle coming straight at me. The bus was just passing me when the motorcycle hit me. I hit the brakes and turned the steering wheel sharply to the left but I couldn't go anywhere,'

PC Graham Welsh, of the Sussex Police Collision Investigation Unit, said Mr Harvey's motorcycle was 'well on the wrong side of the road' at the time of the collision. He said that Mr Harvey tried to apply the brakes but the front wheel of the motorcycle locked, causing him to skid. He said: 'Once the wheel locked, the camber of the road took the motorcycle to the right.'

He said visibility around the bend was severely restricted by bushes and trees. 'There's a portion of the road that gets lost,' he said. 'The high hedgerows can lose a vehicle.'

When asked by coroner Alan Craze whether he thought Mr Harvey may have tried to cut the corner, thinking the road was clear, PC Welsh said: 'It's possible. One can't imagine embarking on a manoeuvre like that without thinking that it's safe to do so.'

Verdict: Accidental death.