A MOTORCYCLIST who was killed in a crash on a major Cumbrian road will be missed 'every minute of every day', an inquest heard.

Lee Chorley, from Dalton, was in a group of three motorcyclists travelling home from a leisure ride south to Ulverston on the A595 near Whitbeck on Sunday, August 22, 2021, when he collided with a white Mercedes that was attempting to join the northbound carriageway from a farm-track on the left.

Emergency services were first called at 2.43 pm.

The 31-year-old was described by his mother Lesley as 'outgoing, genuine, always smiling, with an infectious laugh'.

The inquest heard he was leading the group and travelling at a speed of 'no less than 87 miles per hour' according to the police collision report.

It was calculated using CCTV footage from the nearby Whisky Barn, 180 metres north of the crash scene.

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Assistant coroner for Cumbria Craig Smith heard that Mr Chorley was negotiating a left-hand bend immediately prior to the collision, meaning Craig Tyson, the driver of the Mercedes, and Mr Chorley, would have had 80 metres of visibility between each other to react. At the speed Mr Chorley was travelling he would have covered the distance in 1.5 seconds, giving neither person sufficient time to react.

The collision report also stated that if Mr Chorley was travelling at the speed limit of 60 miles per hour, he would have had 2.2 seconds to react, concluding that: "Lee would have been at risk of collision, but at 87, the collision would have been inevitable."

Several witnesses stopped to offer assistance at the scene and to call 999.

The second rider, Mr Chorley's best friend Kyle Henderson, swerved to avoid the car but stopped and ran back to the scene to assist.

Mr Henderson later paid tribute to his friend in his statement: "He was a key part of my life, both on and off the bike - I now need to find the strength to carry out our plans and ambitions in his memory."

The third rider was Kyle Henderson's father, Roy Henderson, who the inquest heard had collided with the rear driver's side door, sustaining multiple fractures. He was airlifted to Preston hospital where he recovered.

Mr Tyson, a farm worker from Millom, was leaving his parent's house for Sunday dinner and returning to work, joining the carriageway, as he had done 'many times before', when the fatal collision occurred.

Toxicology reports and police investigations showed that nothing else was a factor in the collision - no alcohol or drugs had been consumed, Mr Tyson had not been using his phone or driving erratically, and there were no contributory mechanical defects on any of the vehicles involved.

Road and weather conditions were clear, and the three motorcyclists and Mr Tyson were all found to be 'experienced' in handling their vehicles.

Concluding, Mr Smith accepted the findings of the collision report and postmortem, and gave the cause of death as 'massive blunt force chest injuries due to a road traffic collision.'

He added: "He  had a very packed life for 31 years - a genuine person, always smiling, with a  passion for helping others, and it is clear that his sudden and unexpected passing had a shattering effect on his family."

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