Deeside: Teen electric bike crash accidental - inquest

Jamie Michael Jones was studying carpentry and joinery at the time of his death

A teenager died accidentally after crashing a powerful electric bike he bought four days earlier, an inquest has found.

Jamie Michael Jones, 17, crashed on a cycle path on the B5114 in Sealand Road, Garden City, Deeside, on 12 December 2021.

The inquest in Ruthin, Denbighshire, heard he hit a telegraph pole at 26mph (42km/h).

He died in hospital after suffering trauma to his abdomen and thorax.

Forensic vehicle examiner Gary Roberts said he believed the bike was a Chinese copy of a Stealth Bomber electric bike, which was capable of travelling at 70mph (110km/h).

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Mr Roberts told the court the rear brake of the bike was defective, something the inquest later heard Mr Jones was aware of when he bought it second hand.

But Mr Roberts felt that did not contribute to the accident.

North Wales Police forensic collision investigator Gordon Saynor examined the scene and said the conditions had been dry and fine, with no issues on the well-lit path.

He said CCTV footage showed Mr Jones cycling towards Garden City, leaving the path and hitting the telegraph pole with no third party involvement. He was unable to offer a plausible explanation as to why it happened.

He went on to say that to be classified as bicycle, electric bikes should have a maximum output of 250 watts with anything above that classed as a motorcycle.

Mr Jones' bike had an output of 800 watts.

Consultant pathologist, Dr Mark Atkinson, who carried out a post-mortem examination, said his trauma injuries were consistent with impact at speed.

In answer to questions by Mr Jones' mother and sisters, he said the injuries were not historic and not consistent with an assault.

Assistant coroner Kate Sutherland gave a conclusion of accidental death, telling Mr Jones' family that "no inquest will be able to answer every single question that you have".

In a statement, his mother Jane Clutton said her son was "well-mannered, well-known and well-respected".

His death had left a "massive unexplainable hole," she added.