Former armed robber died after he ‘lost control’ of bike on way home from day out

A former armed robber died when he crashed his motorbike on his way home from a day out, an inquest heard. Pave 'Paul' Corkovic, who was 60, died of multiple injuries after his green Kawasaki Z900 hit a kerb and crashed into the central reservation on Albion Way, a dual carriageway in Salford, Greater Manchester, shortly before 6pm on June 22, 2024. The HGV driver, said to be an experienced rider, died at the scene of the crash, close to Salford Crescent railway station.

Mr Corkovic was the head of a prolific gang which attacked security guards delivering and collecting cash at banks and supermarkets in the mid 1990s, reports Manchester Evening News[1]. But more recently he was said to have left his life of crime behind and became a father again. His partner Ntokozo Buyle Khumalo told an inquest at Bolton Coroners' Court on Monday (March 31) she was out of the country at the time of the crash but that Mr Corkovic had texted her after he had finished work that day that.

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He told her he was heading out to Southport "with the lads" on his Kawasaki Z900, which he had purchased eight months earlier. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here[2]. Eye-witness Lee Reading, in a statement read out in court, told the inquest he was driving his car with his family on board when he saw a motorbike hit a kerb and then crash into the central reservation, unseating its rider and propelling them over the two lanes of the opposite carriageway and into bushes.

Mr Reading said he went to assist the "groaning" casualty and told him not to move until paramedics were on the scene. Despite efforts to revive him, Mr Corkovic died of "multiple injuries" at the scene. No drugs and only a "negligible" level of alcohol was found his system, although this may have been generated by his body after death, the inquest heard.

His friend and fellow HGV driver Sean Devalda told the inquest he and Mr Corkovic had ridden their motorbikes for a day-trip to Southport and the crash happened as the pair were nearing their homes. As Mr Corkovic's family were away in Croatia, the pair agreed to go on the ride, using the A-roads to travel to Southport where they enjoyed an ice-cream and a meal at an Italian restaurant before heading back, this time using the motorways rather than the A-roads, Mr Devalda confirmed. The two riders had left the M602 and negotiated stationary traffic at a set of red lights before the lights turned green.

Mr Devalda said he 'shot off' when the lights turned green and only learned of the crash when a third motorcyclist informed him of the crash 'a few seconds later'. When he returned after navigating a one-way system in the area, he said he saw people 'working on Pave' and he informed the police of his presence. He told the court he was arrested by police but the inquest heard there was no evidence that the witness had been speeding.

Mr Devalda said that when he returned he noticed the second lane of Albion Way, on which Mr Corkovic was said to have been riding, was 'damaged' and there was a 'great dip which could easily make you lose control'.

Police collision investigator PC Adam Cooper said analysis of Mr Corkovic's motorbike showed it had 'no defects' before the crash and he found no defects in the road which would have contributed the crash. No 'lubricants' were found on the carriageway and the weather[3] at the time was fine and dry, he said. He said there were a few grids along a straight section of the road and that one was slightly raised, but he went on to say that motorbikes were designed to navigate such grids and there was no evidence the machine had gone over the grid in question.

The inquest heard that although CCTV was collected, no footage captured the crash. PC Cooper, who said he was also a motorcyclist, said he would have expected the machine to take a different line than one that would have taken the bike over the grid. The officer said there was no evidence that the Kawasaki had applied the brakes and rubber deposits found at the scene suggested it had struck the kerb before hitting the central reservation.

The bike had remained upright for a short distance before its left handlebar struck a pole and Mr Corkovic was unseated, the inquest heard. The inquest heard there was no evidence of the speed of the Kawasaki before the crash. Mr Corkovic's son Drago Corkovic said he visited the scene of the crash later and he questioned the PC about yellow markings in crayon near the grid.

PC Cooper said he would not have expected the bike to travelling on a line which took it over the grid and that, if there was a problem there, he would have expected police to be called to that spot 'more regularly'. Det Sgt Matthew Waggett, in charge of the investigation, said: "I'm aware of the concerns around the grid. If there was a road defect identified that was so dangerous, we would not have re-opened the carriageway and immediate repairs would have been made but that was not the case." Recording a road traffic collision conclusion, Assistant Coroner Stephen Teasdale recorded the medical cause of death as 'multiple injuries' and said there was 'no evidence' anyone else was involved in the crash.

Mr Teasdale said there was no evidence the bike had taken a line which would have taken it over the grid and no evidence it would have caused a crash even if it had. He said he had heard evidence from the police which suggested the rider had 'lost control'. Mr Corkovic's past reputation stemmed from an astonishing spree of robberies which began just months after he had been released from prison for other offences in October 1994.

Having recruited a new team he set up a base in a lock-up at Irlam industrial estate and the gang armed themselves with sawn-off shotguns, sledgehammers, machetes, baseball bats and an AK47 assault rifle.

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References

1. ^ Manchester Evening News (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
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