A driver involved in a collision that killed a much-loved young biker says she never saw his motorcycle until after the crash.
An inquest into the death of Jack Madsen, 22, opened on Monday almost three years after the tragedy in Bransholme.
Jack was riding his Honda motorcycle in Wawne Road, just a short distance from his home, on Saturday, August 29, 2020. He was involved in a collision with a blue Volkswagen Polo at the junction with Littleham Close.
Emergency services quickly arrived after the collision at 6pm, but Jack was pronounced dead at the scene. During the inquest in Hull, the driver of the VW Polo gave evidence via video link.
Jack’s family listened as the driver told how she had passed her test in May 2019 and drove daily. She said she lived close by and used the Littleham Close junction with Wayne Road every day.
On the day of the incident, the driver was with her nana and they were going see her mother. The driver said the amount of traffic on the road was about average, but she had to wait for a while to find a gap to pull out.
She told the inquest: “I looked both ways before pulling out of the junction turning right. There was a car turning left into Littleham Close and I waited until it began to turn.
“The view was clear and I wasn’t distracted by anything. After that, all I heard was a bang as something hit my car in the driver’s door. I did not see anything until then.
“I was in shock, but I didn’t realise it was a motorcycle until I managed to get out of the car from the passenger side. I just remember members of the public rushing to help the biker and I was ushered into a car nearby.”
The driver’s nana also gave evidence. She said that she saw no cars coming either way as her granddaughter pulled out of the junction.
A woman who was driving along Wawne Road at the time of the incident also gave evidence via video link. She told the inquest that she did not see the motorbike.
The woman said: “I saw a car at the junction of Littleham Close and she started to pull out slowly. When it was halfway across the road the car suddenly bounced towards me. I couldn’t understand what had hit the car.
“I saw two women get out of the car and it was then I saw the motorbike and the young man lying face down in the road. I approached the man and tried to speak to him but he was unresponsive.
“I didn’t see the motorbike at all prior to the incident. I never heard the bike either, but I had the radio playing.”
A statement was read out from a cyclist who was riding by at the time that the crash happened. He said: “I saw the car waiting at the junction of Littleham Close and I heard the tyres screech as it turned right. I then heard a big bang and then the
motorbike in the road. The rider was lying motionless.
“Someone got out of a car and ran over and started giving him CPR before the emergency services arrived.”
A taxi driver also gave evidence. In his statement, he explained how he saw the bike as it overtook him. He also supplied dashcam footage to the police.
He said: “I saw the motorcycle accelerate down Wawne Road. As the bike past me I saw a car pulling out ahead and then the impact between the bike and car. The bike was travelling above the speed limit while the car was hardly moving.”
The postmortem concluded Jack died of multiple traumatic injuries due to a road traffic incident. Toxicology results found that he did have cocaine and cannabis in his system, which could have affected his ability to ride the bike safely.
here was an outpouring of grief in the weeks after Jack’s death. There was further agony for his family after a second post-mortem examination was requested, which delayed his funeral.
Friends and family held a balloon release in his memory and a huge number of cards, balloons and mementos were left at the scene of the crash. Many people lined the streets during his funeral, which could only be attended by 30 people due to the Covid
restrictions in place at the time.
Jack's mum, Jenny Hobman, who attended the inquest, previously paid an emotional tribute to her son. She said: “He was an amazing lad. It was just Jack and me and in the house and he really looked after me. He was just lovely and fantastic.
“He had lots of friends and the whole of Bransholme knew him. When he entered a room he would light it up. He was known for being such a nice lad.
“He has a one-and-half-year-old daughter, but she is too young to understand what has happened. But he was a great dad, as well as a great son, brother, nephew, grandson, cousin and friend."
The inquest continues and is set to be concluded on Tuesday.
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/driver-never-saw-bike-before-8497509
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