Inquest into death of motorcycle rider concluded following Ballamodha crash

26-year-old lost control of bike whilst travelling at high speed

*A warning that this story contains information which some readers may find upsetting.

A motorcycle rider from Douglas who died earlier this year could have been momentarily distracted because his helmet wasn’t correctly fastened.

That’s what police determined following an investigation into his crash on Ballamodha Straight on 1 May.

Callum Moore suffered head injuries as a result of the collision; he was airlifted to Aintree Hospital and, despite treatment, died three days later on 4 May.

The inquest into the 26-year-old’s death was concluded at Liverpool and Wirral Coroner’s Court this week (25 September).

Coroner of Inquests Anita Bhardwaj heard Mr Moore was riding a BMW S1000RR motorbike, in the direction of Castletown, at 4.25pm.

He was travelling behind a friend, who was also on a motorbike, who’d accelerated to speeds of around 120mph before starting to slow down.

The court heard Mr Moore had gone ‘flying’ past him, into the middle of the road, before veering wider and colliding with an embankment.

Details of the ‘full forensic collision investigation’, undertaken by the Isle of Man Constabulary, were revealed during the inquest.

It found that Mr Moore had been travelling no slower than 72mph and no faster than 106mph at the time of the collision.

The impact caused the hospital porter’s helmet to dislodge ‘almost immediately’ and it was noted that this was ‘perhaps indicative of it not having been secured properly’.

This hypothesis was said to be supported by the fact the helmet strap was ‘completely undone’ and was later backed up by the account provided by Mr Moore’s friend.

Police determined that it was possible that prior to the collision Mr Moore’s helmet had risen due to ‘aerodynamic drag’ which could have caused a ‘momentary distraction/loss of visibility’.

Recording the cause of death as a road traffic collision Coroner Bhardwaj said it was more likely than not that Mr Moore had lost control of his bike whilst travelling at high speed.

However she said the specific reason for that loss of control remained ‘unknown’.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this story there are details of local organisations that provide advice and support HERE.