A young biker died after riding on the wrong side of the road and crashing into a lorry, an inquest heard.
Lewis Mackenzie Dobson, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision on the A1041 Ferry Lane at Carlton, near Selby, on 25 August last year.
An inquest into his death was held in Northallerton yesterday (Monday).
A post mortem concluded that Mr Dobson died of a traumatic brain injury.
Toxicology tests found he had enough alcohol in his blood to put him three times over the drink-drive limit. He also had cocaine in his system.
Witnesses who were driving through Carlton that day saw Mr Dobson fall off his bike, before getting back on it to continue his journey.
He was then seen overtaking vehicles in the area. One driver said he was shocked to see the bike “fly past me”.
A lorry driven by Mark Johnson was the other vehicle in the collision. A driver in the vehicle behind said the lorry was driving correctly but the motorbike was “100% on the wrong side of the road”.
The tachograph on the wagon showed it was going at 30mph at the time of the crash. Mr Johnson braked and swerved to try to avoid Mr Dobson who was driving straight at him.
But the bike had crossed the solid ‘no overtaking’ white line in the middle of the road, and the collision was unavoidable, the inquest heard.
After the crash, a paramedic pronounced Mr Dobson dead at the scene at 12.38pm.
Subsequent examination of the bike found it had an under-inflated rear tyre, which would have affected the way it handled.
The brakes were also found to be inadequate, and the bike was described as unroadworthy.
Michael Brough, a forensic collision investigator with North Yorkshire Police, said the road and weather conditions were good.
The speed the bike was going hasn’t been determined.
Senior coroner Jon Heath said: “The vehicle was on the wrong side of the road, overtaking in an area of poor sight lines.
“That’s how the two vehicles came to collide, with Mr Dobson on the wrong side of the road.”
In his conclusion he said Mr Dobson, of Pontefract, “crossed the solid white line essentially into the path of the oncoming vehicle whilst trying to manoeuvre past other vehicles”.
He died of injuries sustained in a road traffic collision. Mr Heath offered his condolences to Mr Dobson’s family.