Crash victim had left youth jail two days prior

Wayne Hodgson died in July 2024 two days after being released from a young offenders institution

A teenager who died following a motorbike crash had been released from a young offenders institution just two days earlier.

Wayne Hodgson, 18, and Bobby Grimes, 13, died after being hit by a car on Middridge Road, close to the Rushyford roundabout near Newton Aycliffe, shortly before 12:00 BST on 5 July 2024.

A report by the Prisons and Probations Ombudsman (PPO) said Mr Hodgson had been released from HMYOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire on 3 July following a nine-month sentence for theft.

It said there was nothing to indicate that his actions in the road traffic accident had been deliberate.

An inquest into his death in 2024 concluded he had died as a result of "misadventure".

The PPO said he had a history of self-harm and misusing the drug pregabalin which is prescribed for epilepsy, but which he did not have a prescription for.

The report said the teenager had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, PTSD and ADHD.

It also said there had been a deterioration in his mental health in April 2024 when he began to describe hearing voices.

'Impair driving ability'

During this period he set his cell on fire and cut his face, the report said.

He was then given a higher dose of an antipsychotic medication which Mr Hodgson said helped to reduce his intrusive thoughts, according to the PPO.

He was released on 3 July with driving licence conditions related to recent road traffic offences.

The report said that on 5 July Mr Hodgson was travelling on a motorbike with Bobby Grimes when he swerved into the path of oncoming traffic.

It said toxicology reports shown excess amounts of pregabalin in his blood.

A toxicologist said this can induce sedation, dizziness, nausea as well as impaired decision-making skills, affecting the ability to drive.