Eighteen year old Shane Dean was killed after the mini-motorbike he was riding crashed into a lamppost. Shane had not been wearing a helmet and suffered massive brain injuries and never regained consciousness after the motorcycle accident. He died in the intensive car unit of Wigan’s Albert Edward Infirmary four days after the incident.
Shane had been riding mini-motorbikes on private land since he was 12 years old. His mother told the courts how safety had always been paramount. She said: “My brother broke his neck on a bike when he was 14 so the importance of wearing a helmet was always drummed into Shane and his brother Ryan.”
An hour before the accident took place Shane had visited his friend Lindsey Riley. Ms Riley had aired her concerns after Shane revealed the bike had no brakes.
PC Roberts of the forensic collision reconstruction unit found the bike had no brakes, no registration plates and no identification marks. He went on to say that the only way this bike could have been slowed down was by releasing the accelerator and using his feet on the ground.
