A YOUNG motorcyclist who died in a collision with a lorry and trailer on the A59 outside Skipton was estimated to have been riding at up to 100mph minutes before the crash, an inquest in Skipton was told.

Chef Joshua Jake Duxbury, 21, died as he was travelling from his home in Blackburn in the direction of Harrogate to work at his mother’s Route 59 cafe at about 8.25am on October 8, 2016.

A witness statement from a lorry driver who was overtaken by Mr Duxbury a few minutes before the collision put his speed then at “up to 100mph.” A toxicology report had indicated there was cannabis in the rider’s bloodstream, said North Yorkshire senior coroner Rob Turnbull.

Mr Duxbury rode in to a loaded lorry and trailer that was turning on to the A59 from the Skibeden metal fabrication workshops, just over a kilometre from the junction of the A59 and A65. Moped rider Matthew Fisher told the inquest he was travelling to work when he was overtaken by Mr Duxbury, who was “going so fast it made me jump.” He saw the motorcycle hit the trailer after braking “for maybe a second” before it hit. Mr Fisher tried to perform CPR but was hampered because he could not get off Mr Duxbury’s helmet.

Skibeden workshop owners Bruce and Barry Greenwood and the driver of the wagon, Brian Thornton, also tried to help Mr Duxbury before paramedics arrived. Bruce Greenwood told the inquest that there was a restricted view because of the brow of the hill and overhanging trees. He had checked the road before the wagon moved out and both directions were clear as far as he could see, he said. North Yorkshire Police collision investigation office Steve Gardner said that there was a 60mph speed limit at that point. His investigation indicated that a motorcycle rider would have had 181 metres to see the lorry and trailer. Visibility at the time was reasonably good.

Mr Duxbury’s mother Audrey Duxbury told the inquest that her son had ridden motorcycles since the age of seven and was very experienced. He had been using cannabis on medical advice to deal with sleeplessness and severe night terrors, she said. She also thanked Mr Fisher for his efforts to save her son’s life. Coroner Mr Turnbull said that it seemed death had been instantaneous, and added: “He did not slow down. Why we don’t know. It is a very sad loss.”