A biker who died after being hit by a lorry when traffic slowed to let an ambulance on its way to an emergency has been described as a ‘very special man who is much missed’.
Charles Camilleri, 71, from Salford, was killed after ‘applying heavy braking’ and falling from his motorbike as an ambulance approached on junction 18 of the M60 on September 26 last year. An inquest at Rochdale Coroners Court today (May 9) heard how Mr Camilleri lost his balance and fell into the direction of a passing HGV which had been unable to stop.
Mr Camilleri, a dad of six and stepfather to two, suffered 'fatal injuries' as a result and was pronounced dead at the scene. The inquest heard how the ambulance had been displaying blue lights on route to an emergency. Approaching the Simister Island roundabout, nearby vehicles began to stop to allow the ambulance to pass through.
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The driver of a white transit van in the right hand lane stopped before hearing a ‘thud’ and noticing the ambulance was struggling to get past. Behind the van, a driver in an Audi A3 also applied the brakes and came to a stop.
Mr Camilleri was on a motorbike behind the Audi vehicle and ‘applied heavy braking’ to cause his vehicle to stop. However, his motorbike became unbalanced and fell to the rear side into the direction of an approaching HGV.
Reading the drivers’ witness statement into evidence, Assistant Coroner Alex Preston told the inquest: “Whilst on the roundabout, the driver noticed the ambulance stop and he continued in order to not block the ambulance. As he did this, he saw the motorcyclist and saw them fall over towards the van’s rear view trailer.”
Julie Jones, Mr Camilleri’s partner of 26 years, said in a witness statement that he had been born in Malta before moving to the UK at the age of three. After school, he worked on an ice cream van with his dad before going on to own a second-hand hardware shop.
“He loved motorbikes but didn’t get into the hobby properly until he was about 35 to 40 years old,” the statement read. “He has owned many bikes over the years. He got together with his friends regularly and most Sundays were spent on bike rides or charity bike rides.”
She added: “He never stopped and he worked hard. He was a very popular man in Salford, and he was known by many and everybody loved him. His death was a great shock to the whole family and he was a very special man.”
Following the collision, all drivers remained at the scene and the paramedic in the ambulance got out of the vehicle to help at the scene. A police investigation was carried out, with a report from Sergeant Andrew Page, of GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU), finding there had been ‘very little time to avoid a collision with the Audi’.
The report noted: “The actions of each of the other drivers involved in this incident are the result of legitimate choices which are available to any driver. While Mr Camilleri may not have had advanced warning of the ambulance’s approach, evidently, he did not allow himself sufficient time or distance to safely stop his vehicle in the event of this type of situation.
"As a result, during subsequent emergency braking, he fell onto the floor ahead of the HGV’s wheels. It’s highly unlikely that the driver would have seen this incident develop into the offside of his vehicle. At the point where he fell on the floor, there would have been insufficient time to react and stop the vehicle.”
A pathology report from Dr Salmo said that Mr Camilleri died as a result of multiple fatal injuries, with coroner Ms Preston ruling his death had been caused by a road traffic collision. Addressing Mr Camilleri’s family, Ms Preston said: “I’m very sorry that this happened to a gentleman who sounded much loved and who had a lot of children. He had some fantastic hobbies and holidays and is a special man who is much missed.”
