‘Lovely’ North Muskham motorcyclist died after braking on bend that ‘looked worse than it was’

The parents of a young Nottinghamshire[1] motorcyclist who died after crashing on a country lane have paid tribute to their “lovely” son. Tyler Hampton, 21, collided with a barrier while navigating a bend in Norwell Lane, between the villages of Cromwell and Norwell near Newark, on June 10[2]. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after, having sustained a severe head injury.

An inquest, which concluded at Nottingham Council House today (Tuesday, December 12), heard Mr Hampton veered off the road on his Suzuki Bandit after braking on a turn that “looked worse than it was”. The IT network planner from North Muskham was described as a “lovely young man”, who “was in the prime of his life and loved to ride”, by his parents Julian and Trish Hampton. They said he was a “competent” motorcyclist who had been riding since the age of 17 and used his bike to commute to work.

Get the latest news straight to your phone by joining us on WhatsApp[3] Speaking after the inquest, they said: “He was living life to the fullest, he was very funny and very kind. He would’ve hated causing all this inconvenience.

He loved to ride and he was out there enjoying the day, the weather[4] was perfect. We miss him greatly, we’re devastated.” Mr and Mrs Hampton said he was the eldest of three siblings, with the others aged 19 and 20. “They were very close, they were all best friends,” they added.

Collision investigators from Nottinghamshire Police[5] told the inquest that Mr Hampton was travelling at around 60mph on the approach to the bend at around 6.30pm, which was within the speed limit. Forensic collision investigator Andrew Bell said it was possible to navigate the turn at that speed, but believed Mr Hampton thought it was not and began to brake, which caused the bike to stand up and send him into the barrier. “I don’t feel he was going that fast when he struck the barrier,” he said. “He was thrown 14 metres into the field which is not that far, and the bike stayed on the two-foot barrier and followed it around on the turn.

The bend looks considerably more severe than it actually is.”

Norwell Lane, Cromwell (Image: Google Streetview)

Moments before the crash, Mr Hampton had overtaken a teenager who was riding an off-road bike with his girlfriend sitting in front of him. The couple, who cannot be named due to being under the age of 18, later told police that they saw Mr Hampton’s bike “wobble” as he navigated the bend. Police also interviewed drivers who saw the aftermath of the crash and performed CPR on Mr Hampton after finding him lying in a field.

His bike was found to be unrestricted and had 66kW of power, Mr Bell said, despite Mr Hampton’s A2 license requiring a maximum of 35kW. He said he had no reason to believe he knew it was unrestricted, with a 25kW Alpha Technik Restrictor sticker found on the bike. Mr Hampton had bought the bike nine months earlier, so was deemed to have been familiar with the vehicle.

Assistant coroner Nathanael Hartley recorded the cause of death as a road traffic collision.

The post-mortem found he died of multiple injuries, including a severe head injury.

References

1. ^ Nottinghamshire (www.nottinghampost.com)
2. ^ between the villages of Cromwell and Norwell near Newark, on June 10 (www.nottinghampost.com)
3. ^ Get the latest news straight to your phone by joining us on WhatsApp (www.nottinghampost.com)
4. ^ weather (www.nottinghampost.com)
5. ^ Police (www.nottinghampost.com)