Secret kept by teen, 16, with 'heart of gold' which resulted in his tragic death
A teenager kept the tragic secret of buying a £180 stolen motorbike with his friend before riding it in a tragic horror crash, an inquest heard.
Mckenna Leigh, 16, was not trained to ride the stolen Honda 125 and was not wearing a helmet when he collided with a Vauxhall Vivaro van and died from his injuries. His family, from Denton, Greater Manchester, were unaware he had the bike and would see him leaving the house on his sister's bicycle but he later swapped over to the motorbike, the coroner was told.
The bike, which did not carry number plates, had been stolen a year earlier to the crash in an incident unrelated to Mckenna, the Manchester Evening News reported. Speaking at Stockport Coroners Court on Wednesday, Mckenna's father Darren Smith said had he known about the secret motorbike, his son 'wouldn't have been allowed out'.
Mckenna's family were unaware their son had the bike and would see him leaving the house on his sister's bicycle, but he later swapped over to the motorbike, the coroner was told (Anthony Moss | Manchester Evening News)The court heard how Mckenna had a 'passion' for bikes at a young age, using a Yamaha 'pee-wee 50' children's bike on fields at the age of six with his older sister. Yet he appeared to lose interest in motorcycles as he got older, and he turned down the opportunity to do compulsory basic training for motorbikes at the age of 16.
Mr Smith told the inquest his son was 'always out on his sister's pushbike' instead. That was the same bicycle Mckenna left the house with at around 11.15am on September 17 last year. But after leaving the house, the teen swapped his sister's bicycle for the Honda, which he had bought with a friend and kept secret from his family.
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Clare Leigh, Mckenna's mum, said: "He was not allowed [a motorbike] at that age unless he did his test, which he didn't want to do. I found out by friends that him and his friend bought it two weeks previously for £180. He had stored it somewhere and we didn't know about it." Mr Smith added: "He essentially wouldn't have been allowed out if we were aware of it."
The court heard how Mckenna was seen on CCTV meeting a friend outside McDonald's, in Denton, who he picked up as a pillion passenger on the motorbike. The Honda was later seen overtaking slow-moving vehicles on Denton Road, in Audenshaw, before colliding with a Vauxhall van being driven by Dennis Morgan.
Mr Morgan had moved to the centre of the road and began to move right to pull across to the other side as Mckenna's bike struck the van, the court heard. Neither Mckenna nor his passenger wore a protective helmet, while both wore dark clothing and a balaclava.
The inquest heard Mckenna hit a street bollard following the impact with the van, while his passenger landed on him before resting on the street. A forensic investigation into the collision was 'inconclusive'.
Sergeant Paul Terry, of Greater Manchester Police's serious collision investigation unit (SCIU), explained that the speed the two vehicles were travelling could only be estimated based on CCTV - with the bike averaging 13mph and the motorbike averaging 37mph when passing a pedestrian crossing before the collision. The Honda's speed was later estimated at 26 to 32mph at the time of the collision.
Police concluded Mr Morgan had less than two seconds to see the motorbike, which had filtered through traffic, prior to the collision - but they could not conclude whether Mr Morgan had used his indicator before turning to the right. The court heard that Mr Morgan told police the motorbike hit his van 'pretty much as I've indicated', while his passenger also told police the indicator was used.
But Mckenna's passenger told police the van's indicator had not been used, while another eyewitness failed to mention the indicator, and the light could not be seen on CCTV footage. DC Liam Carolan, of the SCIU, added that police could not conduct a 'mirror survey' of what Mr Morgan would have been able to see because the driver's side mirror had been damaged in the collision.
The court heard the Honda bike was lacking tread on both tyres but coroner Adrian Farrow did not feel this contributed to the crash. Paramedics were called out to the scene at 1.08pm and began to give Mckenna CPR on arrival.
The court heard he suffered cardiac arrest and significant abdominal injuries. Mckenna was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where he arrived at 1.52pm, but he was later pronounced dead at 2.07pm.
Mr Farrow accepted the pathologist's medical cause of Mckenna's death as chest and abdominal injuries, before concluding the tragedy was the result of a road traffic collision. In court, Mckenna was described a 'quite a cheeky lad', with a 'heart of gold' and a 'soft spot for old people and animals'.
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Speaking directly to Mckenna's parents, Mr Farrow added: "I'm saddened that Mckenna lost his life in this way and that his friend was injured in the collision. It is, in my view, a tragic waste of a young life. I hope that you and your wider families can come to remember Mckenna for the person he was and the good qualities he had, that you described to me this afternoon."
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