The Coroners Court has ruled that the 2018 death of Lenny Ray Pinet-Trusty was the result of misadventure.
Pinet-Trusty, of Honduras, died from injuries sustained when his white and orange Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle collided with a white Toyota Altezza at the intersection of Soto Lane and Shamrock Road in Spotts on 25 March. Pinet-Trusty was 35 years old.
During the inquest into his death, several officers and experts gave evidence which broadly agreed that the collision between the two vehicles resulted from Pinet-Trusty’s speed and final fleeting decisions.
“The electronic gauge cluster, which separated upon impact, shows that he was travelling at 85 miles per hour,” accident reconstructionist Collin Reddin told the court. “That speed is consistent with the fact that, upon collision, the bike was generating in excess of 3,000 [rotations per minute] and was in fourth gear, which is a high gear.”
The collision occurred as the driver of the Altezza was turning right from Soto Lane onto the inside lane of Shamrock Road, in the direction of George Town. Pinet-Trusty, who was in the single lane heading towards Bodden Town, swerved right into the oncoming lane of traffic, where his motorcycle connected with the front of the car.
“The accident could have been avoided, had the deceased remained in his lane,” said Police Sergeant Lenford Butler, who arrived on the scene a few minutes after the impact.
He added, “Based on the speed, the rider would have had at most 10 seconds to perceive the danger and make a decision.”
According to Butler, Pinet-Trusty decided to switch lanes in an effort to avoid the collision. This seems to indicate that the rider may have assumed the car was turning left rather than right.
“There are no signs of panic braking, which shows that he was aware of the vehicle and thought the easiest thing to do would be to move away from the danger by switching lanes,” said Butler. “Based on his speed, it would not have been possible to brake in time, so his only choice would have been to use compression to slow the bike down. That is why he would have geared down from sixth gear to fourth gear.”
Redden told the jurors that his inspection of Pinet-Trusty’s bike revealed it had been modified with several after-market parts.
“The first thing to note is that this was a hyper-performance motorcycle, capable of generating more than 1,300cc,” Redden said. “In addition to its engine capacity, there were after-market racing parts which would have assisted the bike in racing, such as throttles and an extended wing.”
The court heard that while these modifications made the motorcycle faster, it reduced is ability to effectively turn corners.
“This meant it was harder for the rider to manoeuvre past the car,” said Redden.
At the time of the collision, a double yellow line separated the two westbound lanes from a single eastbound lane. To access the westbound lanes, the rider of the motorcycle crossed over the double yellow line. The legality of this move was questioned by Pinet-Trusty’s wife, who attended the coroner’s hearing.
“This was a legal turn as there was no sign that restricted such a turn,” said Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez, who presides over the Coroner’s Court.
The 24-year-old West Bay man who was driving the Altezza was initially arrested and questioned by police. However, he was released, and the decision was taken not to charge him.
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