A speeding biker who used a motorway as a “racetrack” has been jailed after a dangerous manoeuvre killed his friend.
Cambell Kennedy, then 23, and his pal Kyle Hempenstall, 28, averaged more than 80mph as they rode their Yamaha R1s along the M62 in May 2020.
Uninsured Kennedy, who only had a provisional licence, led his friend between a Transit van and an HGV when he hit the brakes.
Mr Hempenstall’s handlebar clipped the van before he lost control and smashed into a maintenance digger. The dad of one, who worked as a joiner, died at the scene.
Van driver Keith Fitzsimons, 54, told Manchester crown court: “They were riding as if the motorway was their own racetrack and they didn’t care about anybody else.”
Kennedy, now 25, of Stockport, admitted causing death by dangerous driving while uninsured. The Recorder of Manchester, Judge Nicholas Dean QC, jailed him for five and a half years.
He said: “For the rest of your life, you will know you killed a friend.”
