The son of an army veteran who died after mysteriously losing control of his motorbike on a motorway slip road has recounted the gut-wrenching moment he passed the crash site before finding out his dad had tragically died.
Peter Lord, 66, known as Pete, had been riding along the M60 and was heading onto the eastbound M62 via the slip road at Simister Island earlier this year when he suddenly came off his bike.
Passing motorists stopped and rushed to his aid and police and paramedics, including the air ambulance, raced to the scene. Mr Lord, who had suffered 'catastrophic' head injuries was rushed to Salford Royal Hospital but died there several hours later.
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The inquest heard that 'great dad and fantastic grandad' Mr Lord was a long-distance HGV driver by trade.
However, he was a also 'passionate' motorcyclist – taking part in numerous charity rides including most recently the ride of Ukraine in February this year.
His family said Royton-born Mr Lord, who had turned 66 and reached state retirement age just two days before the tragedy, was a 'careful' rider who was always cleaning and tinkering with his Yamaha FJR1300 bike.
On the morning before the tragedy, Tuesday, June 21 this year, he had been pumping up the tyres on his grandkids' push bikes the inquest at Rochdale Coroner's Court was told.
Shortly after 2:50pm that day he came off the M60 at junction 18, and negotiated the traffic lights as he headed onto the access slip road leading onto the eastbound M62 heading towards Rochdale.
He was in the third lane and overtook an HGV before returning to lane two. After doing so he accelerated and his back wheel 'lost traction' with the road surface the inquest heard.
His bike had then 'high-sided' throwing him from it and it collided with him on the floor dislodging his helmet. He suffered a fractured skull and other head injuries as a result of the crash.
Despite desperate attempts by members of the public and medics both at the scene and in hospital, he could not be saved.
The inquest was dealt with on a documentary basis with no live witnesses being called to give evidence. In a statement readto the court, Peter's son Mike Lord said that following the collision that someone made contact with his wife through Facebook telling her that his dad had had an accident and that it 'wasn't looking good.'
He said he went to pick his sister up before heading to the hospital and passed the crash scene where he saw his dad's bike which was being picked up by a recovery truck.
"It didn't look that bad, I couldn't understand it" he said. "All the questions of how and why this happened still haunt us" he added. "He was so careful. It's incomprehensible. We just can't understand it all."
The coroner said no alcohol or illicit drugs were found in his system during post-mortem, and that the weather on the day was said to be sunny, dry, and bright.
Police experts calculated he had accelerated from around 42mph to around 52mph immediately beforehand with the coroner also concluding that speed was not a factor in the collision.
"It cannot be determined with any degree of accuracy why he has lost control of his vehicle" a collision report by Brian Orr from GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit read at the inquest, concluded.
He had "lost traction with the road surface" it added which it was said, "can occur during acceleration."
Recording a conclusion that he died as a result of a road traffic collision, Assitant Coroner Julie Mitchell said: "He was a passionate motorbiker. This was a love of his and a real hobby and no doubt it was something in retirement he would have done a lot more of.
"I understand why the family have so many questions. I think GMP have provided a very detailed forensic collision reconstruction report.
"I am satisfied no one else was involved. I am satisfied from the evidence that as he has accelerated, unfortunately, he lost traction with the road and lost control of the motorcycle. And despite his desperate and best efforts he was unable to regain control of that vehicle.
"It's clear he was wearing adequate protection. It's unfortunate that his helmet became dislodged when the motorbike collided with him. He has left a gaping hole in his family's lives. Not just his immediate children but also his grandchildren.
"He was very much loved by his friends, family and colleagues and was a very kind man who would go out of his way to help others who needed help." She also praised the 'good samaritans' who stopped and rushed to his following the smash.
"I think there was a consensus at the collision scene everyone did their best to help Peter and I want to recognise the efforts everyone made in the immediate aftermath."
Following his death Mike Lord paid a heartfelt tribute to his dad telling the Manchester Evening News : "He was also an ex-serviceman and attended rides all over the country.
"He started his working life in the Army, and then moved on to work as an HGV driver and in years gone by travelled all over Europe and further afield with his work.
"Our dad has touched so many people's lives and it's been overwhelming the amount of support and messages we have had since his accident, he had a huge impact on a lot of people's lives and a big hole is now left.
"We have been blown away with how many people thought so highly of him, we are all devastated more than words but he touched the lives of so many people. He will be sorely missed, we are still trying to come to terms with the sudden loss of a great man."
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