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Mum took motorbike keys from her daredevil son, 17, because he had been drinking – he found the spares and died in a crash
A boy of 17 wasn’t wearing a helmet and was over the limit when he suffered fatal injuries in a motorbike crash, an inquest has heard.
Before the crash Stuart Macleod’s mum was so concerned she took the keys to his machine only for the teenager to find the spares and ride away from his home to meet friends.
The teenager suffered suffered fatal brain injuries when he crashed into a parked car on Manchester Road in Mossley at 8pm on Friday September 16 last year. The factory worker died at Salford Royal Hospital two days later.
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Today (Monday) an inquest heard police found selfie-videos from Stuart’s phone which showed him looking ‘elated’ as he rode the machine moments before the crash.
Raised in Preston in Lancashire, Stuart got his first quad bike aged just three, his mother Rositsa Spencer-Smith told the inquest in Stockport.
A safety-pin on the machine limited the speed but ‘fearless’ Stuart, nicknamed ‘Bab-bam’ after the character in the Flintstones by his family, would remove it so he could go faster, the court heard.
It took him a year to get over a crash into a barrier but after that ‘his confidence grew’, he started riding again and he would perform ‘doughnuts’, according to Mrs Spencer-Smith.
In primary school he was a ‘character’ and ‘something of a joker’ who would engage in ‘silly behaviour’ but it was ‘never anything nasty’ and he would not hurt others, said his mother in a statement read out in court.
A bright boy, he sometimes argued with his teachers because of the way they taught maths but he understood it ‘pretty quickly’ when his former teacher mother taught it to him, the inquest was told.
Although he was intelligent, Stuart ‘didn’t apply himself to his full potential’, said Mrs Spencer-Smith. It was said he could solve a Rubiks cube in 24 seconds.
After moving to Mossley, he saved up £600 for going to university but his plans for his education were abandoned when the Covid pandemic hit and he ‘spent it all’, said his mother.
Ambitions to join the military ended when he started a serious relationship with a girl and they discussed moving in together but this relationship came to an end, the court heard.
His friends described him as kind and also ‘very cheeky’ but when his parents had to speak ‘stern words’ to him ‘it was over with and dealt with’ quickly, the inquest was told.
He started working at a factory in Southport and had to get up at 4am to get there on time, according to his mother. He loved going hiking with his father.
On the day of the crash, Mrs Spencer-Smith said her son had asked if some friends could come over and she had agreed as long as he cleaned his room and didn’t make much mess.
She said that at about 7.30pm he said he had wanted to leave but she said she told him she didn’t think he should be going out, the inquest was told.
Mrs Spencer-Smith said her son reported he was ‘ok’ to go out but she found the keys to his motorbike and put them in her back pocket without her son realising.
When she again told her son he shouldn’t be going out, the teenager said he would ‘have a think’, the inquest heard.
But the inquest heard Stuart found a spare set of keys and rode away from home, telling his mum as he did so: “Love you mum.”
Mrs Spencer-Smith told the court: “I have been going over and over what I could have done.”
Sgt Matthew Waggett, who investigated the crash, said the bike crashed into a parked, unattended car and that although there were no eye-witnesses or CCTV of the incident, that he was sure no third party had been involved.
Although it would have been dark at the time, the road conditions were good and no mechanical defects had been found on the bike, said the officer.
Toxicological analysis of a sample of Stuart’s blood found he had 112mg of alcohol in his system per 100 millilitres of blood, the inquest heard. The legal limit for driving is 80mg.
Sgt Waggett added that analysis of Stuart’s phone uncovered selfie video clips, which indicated the device had been clipped to the handlebars, which revealed the teenager ‘appears elated and quite happy’ on his machine before the crash. There was no footage of the crash itself, the inquest was told.
The footage showed he had been riding ‘across multiple lanes’ and that on occasions he was captured ‘looking directly down on his device’. The police officer said it had not been possible to assess the speed of the motorbike.
Recording a verdict that Stuart died as a result of a road traffic collision, Coroner Chris Morris said: “Stuart was obviously a much-loved and highly thought-of young man, someone who was kind and loving and highly bright, vibrant and intelligent.
“The biggest tragedy of this is he’s not fulfilled the potential of somebody who had his whole life ahead of him.”
The coroner concluded that Stuart suffered fatal head injuries when the motorcycle he was riding crashed into a parked, unattended car and that at the time of the crash he wasn’t wearing a helmet as he usually did. Mr Morris went on that the evidence he had heard suggested Stuart’s mother had been concerned enough for her son that she ‘confiscated’ his keys but that he had found a spare set.
At the time of the crash Stuart’s blood-alcohol limit ‘exceeded prescribed limits’, said Mr Morris.
Paying tribute to Stuart shortly after the crash Stuart’s family said in a statement: “Stuart was a whirlwind from the moment he was born until he began his eternal journey.
“He was a loving, caring giant of a character who would look after all those he loved. His family and friends will deeply miss his infectious smile and ability to make everyone around him laugh like the class clown he was. Bright and so intelligent, he had the ability to turn the most basic of conversations into full-on debate.
“With every waking moment we miss you, Stuart, and will always love you like you are right by our sides. RIP beautiful boy. Fly high with the angels our darling son, brother, and friend. We are heartbroken forever.”
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