Lost control of bike after drinking, inquest is told

Nigel McIntyre, from Dungiven, died after trying to turn off Drumsurn Road on his motorbike. He had been planning to go to Portrush to see his girlfriend.

An inquest heard this week that the 49-year-old died from severe head and chest injuries after being thrown from his bike on May 9, 2009. Senior Coroner, John Lecky said the amount of alcohol he had consumed would have affected his judgement and that Mr McIntyre had a history of alcohol dependency.

Mr McIntyre's brother told the coroner the deceased had arrived home that day and said he was going to Portrush to see his girlfriend. "I said to watch the road for the damp spots," he said. "At tea time a policewoman called and said he had been involved in a road collision and he was dead."

Witnesses said they saw Mr McIntyre's motorbike hit the kerb, throwing the driver to the ground. Hanna Potter was driving along Drumsurn Road with a friend when she saw the accident happen.

She said the motorbike tried to negotiate the bend in the direction of Garvagh. The rear wheel hit the kerb causing the back to tumble on to its side a few times.

"The driver was thrown into the air. He was thrown to the right hand side of the road and appeared to fall on to his shoulder. It looked like the rider didn't realise how sharp the bend was.

"I thought he was dead," she said. She called an ambulance and held Mr McIntyre's head, the inquest heard.

An off-duty police officer arrived at the scene after seeing several cars parked on the road with their hazard lights flashing.

Sergeant William Day said he saw Mr McIntyre lying on the edge of the road. He told the coroner: "The man appeared to be in a critical condition and was lying motionless. I asked several by-standers to get a blanket or coat and rest his head on it. He had no helmet on and was breathing but there was no response when I spoke to him. He had a gash on his head. I cleared his airways and tried to talk to him. He struggled to breathe and then stopped breathing completely. I put him on his back and started CPR. He began to breathe again but there was still no response."

The officer said he continued CPR until the ambulance arrived. Mr McIntyre died later in hospital.

The coroner said that Mr McIntyre died from severe head and chest injuries.

"He lost control of his bike and struck a kerb as he was negotiating a bend. At the time he was considerably intoxicated.

"This would have impacted his judgement," he stated.