A mother whose son died in an accident has explained why she wanted to release graphic video footage to reinforce the road safety message.
Beverley Clark, from Pontefract in West Yorkshire, said if, by releasing the footage, someone else’s life could be saved then it was worthwhile.
Mrs Clark’s son, Lewis, died when his motorcycle was hit head-on by an approaching bike that was on the wrong side of the road. Both Lewis, a 22-year-old chef and motorcycle enthusiast who was visiting the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT at the time, and the other rider, were killed instantly at the scene.
Mrs Clark said: ‘When Lewis was killed in the crash I felt so alone, so lost and empty. I needed to find a reason for him to be taken so young. He loved life. He had so much energy and put everything he had into enjoying every day.
‘I felt life was meaningless. I just couldn’t let him die on that cold road. I couldn’t let him just extinguish. I needed him to live on. I needed something positive to come out of this horrific journey.’
The accident happened on August 30 last year, the middle Sunday of the race fortnight.
After being contacted by Sergeant Steve Lapsley, of the police’s roads policing unit, Mrs Clark said she decided to release the footage of the crash, which was captured, by chance, on the camera of another rider. The footage has been mixed in with shots of Lewis as a baby, a young child, with friends and family at social gatherings as well as during past visits to the Isle of Man, where he had given up time as a volunteer marshal for the races. The video also includes a voiceover from Mrs Clark herself and has had more than 380,000 views on YouTube.
She said: ‘Lewis loved to ride and he loved the TT. He wouldn’t want me to hate bikes. Any time he had spare, he’d be out riding. Bikers were his other family.’
But she added: ‘I want to make bikers aware of what can happen if they don’t give 100 per cent all of the time. Yes, I realise many of them are well aware of the dangers but I want them to see the impact of their actions. I have lost my baby boy because another rider made a wrong decision.
‘My young son died in a fireball. No parent should ever have to get that news. My life will never be the same again.
‘If I can make just one person think twice before doing an overtake then another mother may keep her son. My arms ache to hold Lewis every day. I have no words to tell you how much it hurts.’
After an inquest held last month, coroner John Needham recorded an accident verdict on Lewis and the other rider, 53-year-old Christian Berkhan from Germany. Both died from multiple injuries at the scene on the Mountain Road near the Black Hut. The accident happened as Mr Berkhan’s north-bound Ducati failed to return to his own side of the road after overtaking.
Coroner John Needham said he believed the point of impact was on Lewis’s side of the road, the south-bound carriageway and neither rider had time to react. Neither bike was travelling at excessive speed and both riders were experienced.
Although Lewis’s Yamaha Thundercat had its headlight on, Mr Needham said Mr Berkhan did not appear to have seen it.
He recommended taking a fresh look at whether or not the Mountain Road should be one-way during the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT, as it is for the TT.
Commenting on the video, Inspector Derek Flint, who was senior investigating officer for the accident said; ‘We are always incredibly humbled when families find the strength through their grief to help raise awareness of the risks that are out there.
‘This is one of the most powerful road safety videos I’ve seen, and I’d recommend it to any road user. It will make them stop and think.’
Mrs Clark said: ‘Please think of your loved ones at home waiting for your safe return. They need you.
‘Please keep the links in your family chain together. Don’t break them because, as I now know, they can never be repaired.’