Motorcyclist died by misadventure

A motorcyclist whose speed was estimated at 100 miles per hour died by misadventure, a Coroner’s Jury determined.

The jury heard evidence surrounding the death of Nimitz Edward Rankine, 36, which occurred on 22 January 2006. He died after an incident in the High Rock area of East End, where organised racing was taking place.

Queen’s Coroner Nova Hall conducted an inquest on Thursday, 30 August 2007.

The coroner read a statement from Mr. Bobby Gibson, who said he was heading up to the races at the quarry in East End. As he came to High Rock Road, where the races were being held, he waited for vehicles to finish a race so that he could proceed.

About a quarter of the way down, he heard a bike coming at a high rev and speed. He never saw the bike until it crossed him. The bike was travelling at least 100 miles per hour, Mr. Gibson said.

All of a sudden the motorbike lost control and collided into a vehicle driven by Mr. Eddie McLean. The bike bounced off to the right, going into the bush.

Mr. Gibson said that as he pulled up, he could see the rider next to a light pole, but he didn’t know if he had hit the light pole.

Brothers Jules and Jody Jervis they had been involved in the racing.

Around 4 – 4.30pm, Jules raced with Eddie McLean. Jody was Jules’ passenger. The race marshal told them to stay in an area at the finish line because more cars would be racing. They were then informed they could go back to the starting line. Jody drove on the way back.

Jules said two cars were ahead of them and Eddie McLean was behind them. Jody drove about 20mph. About half way he slowed down even further and had almost come to a stop when Jules heard a loud noise and a soft thump.

Jules said he saw a motorbike without a rider going through the bush parallel to the road. The car stopped and they got out and ran to the rider. Jules called 911 while Jody tried to stop traffic.

Jody also explained about driving back to the starting line, with Eddie McLean behind him. He confirmed that he had to slow down because of spectators and the coroner asked him to explain.

He said they used to race on the stretch every Sunday. Normally there were sanctioned events which were organised. ‘Unfortunately we still have people that go and come as they please. Once the racing comes to a stop and vehicles are coming down, some folks just want to leave or take a fast pass going up on the track.’

Jody had also reported seeing a bike cross his window, hitting branches and stuff, but he didn’t see any rider.

Mr. Edison McLean told the court about racing against Jules and then waiting for another race to finish. Then they got the okay to return to the starting line.

He said he was behind Jody and other cars were behind him. He was doing 20-25mph, travelling on the left side of the road. Then Jody slowed down and came to a stop and so did he. He put his car in neutral and leaned over to turn on his flashers as an indication of who had won the race.

He felt a lick to his car and thought someone had rear-ended him. Then he saw a bike going into the bushes. He saw the rider had hit the light pole. He jumped out of his car to see if there was anything he could do.

Mr. McLean said he was in a state of shock and when he saw it was Nimitz that made it even worse because they had gone to school together and were friends.

Members of Rankine’s family were present and they were allowed to ask questions, as were jurors.

In response, Mr. McLean said there were cars on both sides of the road and he was on the left side going down. He said the impact felt like a rear-end hit, but Rankine hit the right side of his car from the tail light to the front fender. ‘It was a sideswipe,’ he said.

When a relative asked for clarification, Mr. McLean said ‘Yes, he hit me. I did not hit him.’

Jurors did not see a sketch of the accident scene, but they were shown photographs of Mr. McLean’s car and the motorcycle. The car showed no damage to the front or rear. The only damage was to the right side, with scraping at the rear and heavier damage toward the front.

Dr. John Heidingsfelder discussed the findings of Dr. Garfield Blake, who performed the autopsy and concluded that death was due to multiple blunt force injuries. Dr. Heidingsfelder confirmed that tests showed no presence of alcohol or drugs.

Injuries included a fractured pelvis and torn spinal cord, but the head injury alone would likely have been sufficient to cause death. Dr. Heidingsfelder said the skull fracture would have rendered the victim unconscious immediately and, due to internal bleeding, he likely would have died within a very few minutes.