Anthony Wood inquest: Motorcyclist who died on A64 while on holiday in Yorkshire 'did not brake in time'

Retired music promoter Anthony Wood, who founded The Wire magazine, was on holiday with his girlfriend Frances Hosking and travelling to Whitby when the crash happened on A64 at Golden Hill, near Malton, on September 15 last year.

An inquest heard the 73-year-old from London was pronounced dead at 2.20pm, after suffering severe chest, spinal and pelvis injuries. .

Ms Hosking was a passenger who was sitting on the motorcycle's pillion. She was injured in the crash but survived.

Forensic collision investigator Paul Harris, of North Yorkshire Police, said the rider’s BMW motorcycle went into the back of a white Ford EcoSport, which had come to a stop at the back of a line of traffic.

He said there were no defects with the motorcycle and Mr Wood failed to leave a sufficient gap between the vehicles and did not apply the brakes in time.

A large police convoy, made up of drivers taking part in a training exercise, was travelling along the dual carriageway, in the opposite direction, when the crash happened and several of the officers witnessed it.

Mr Harris said the convoy may have momentarily distracted Mr Wood, but it did not cause the fatal collision.

Coroner Jonathan Leach said Mr Wood was an “experienced motorcyclist” and Ms Hoskin had “confidence in his ability”, but he “did not brake in time”.

He said: “As a result, he collided with the rear of the vehicle in front of him. In doing so, he sustained injuries from which he died at the scene.”

He ruled that Mr Wood’s death was caused by a road traffic accident.

Mr Wood was a former music promoter from London who founded the magazine The Wire, and later worked in market research after leaving the music industry.

He is described as a lifelong motorcycle enthusiast who built his custom-made BMW bike himself and had ridden to the Arctic Circle on it.

A month before he died, he appeared on the Youtube channel The Camping Biker discussing how biker cafes had survived lockdown during a visit to Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales.