A YOUNG motorcyclist who was high on drink and cocaine died after losing control of his machine and crashing into a tree, an inquest heard.

Mark Lord

A YOUNG motorcyclist who was high on drink and cocaine died after losing control of his machine and crashing into a tree, an inquest heard.

Simon Wright, 21, of Crown Street, Leiston, was travelling towards Saxmundham on the B1119 on his black Yamaha DT 125 when the accident happened in the early hours of June 10 last year.

The inquest, which was held at Lowestoft Magistrates Court yesterday, heard that post-mortem examinations had found that Mr Wright was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit and there was evidence he had been taking cocaine prior to the crash.

Coroner Dr Peter Dean said a police accident report showed there was a bend in the road at the spot where Mr Wright died.

He said: “Mr Wright failed to navigate the bend and carried on in a straight line.”

The coroner said the police report also showed that at the time of the accident the lights on the motorbike were not illuminated.

Dr Dean recorded a verdict of accidental death. Addressing Mr Wright's family after the verdict, he said: “He was clearly much loved and is much missed.”

The fatal accident happened exactly six weeks after Mr Wright's brother, Shaun, 20, was seriously injured in a motorbike accident on the Thorpe Road, between Thorpeness and Aldeburgh.

Shaun severed his spine and suffered extensive injuries when his 400cc motorbike crashed on April 29 last year, and was left paralysed from the waist down.

Speaking to the EADT in June last year, their mum, Mandy Hurren, also from Leiston, said: “It is such a waste of life.

“I'm absolutely devastated and I just can't believe it - how much bad luck can a family have?”