Coroner’s court rules cyclist’s ‘horrible and tragic’ death misadventure

The coroner’s court has ruled that the 2016 death of cyclist Anthony Moore was the result of misadventure.

Moore, 34, died after being struck by a car sometime between 3am and 4am on 30 April 2016 in the vicinity of Butterfly Circle and Hirst Road, Bodden Town.

During the hour-long inquest on Thursday, 10 March, the seven-member jury heard that Moore had attended a party the night before. A toxicology report, based on a sample taken after Moore’s death, revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.3, three times the legal limit.

“Based on the evidence gathered at the scene, it is my professional opinion that Mr. Moore was laying in the road, with the upper part of his body in the northbound lane,” said accident reconstructionist Colin Redden.

Redden explained that it was unlikely that Moore would have been riding the bicycle at the time of the incident because, if that were the case, the injuries would have extended to the lower part of his body.

‘Malicious’ information

Following his death, Moore’s family and the police made a plea for information to help locate the person responsible for the fatal accident.

“About one year after the accident we received information that named five individuals including Mr. Moore,” said Detective Constable Alan Sherwin, who told the court that the RCIPS was unable to investigate the information until 2019.

In addition to the five named individuals the anonymous tip also provided officers with a description of a Ford F150.

“When we processed the F150, which was one of three vehicles, we were unable to find any DNA evidence,” said Redden. “There are some parts of the vehicle that no matter how hard you try to clean, there will always be evidence there.”

He added, “We retrieved what appeared to be a lock of hair from under the wheel-well of the F150, but after processing it, it was discovered to have been animal hair.”

Sherwin told the jurors that after a thorough investigation police concluded that the information was “purely malicious”.

“The information was single source, anonymous, and nothing matched,” said Sherwin. “Persons featured were not mentioned in the first inquiry, and, after interviews, there was nothing to suggest that those persons were involved. So it was concluded that the information was false and purely malicious.”

No justice for Moore

“Based on the injuries, are you suggesting that no one could have missed that they hit someone?” asked Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez, who has been presiding over inquest hearings.

“I would find it hard to believe that someone could miss that they hit someone,” answered Redden. “In fact there was no sign of panic breaking. Instead, the evidence shows that the driver swerved, swerved and swerved again before driving off.”

When closing the matter, Hernandez said, “It is unfortunate that no one has been held accountable, and worse yet, no one holds themselves accountable. This was a horrible and tragic way to die.”