PC Matt Lannie: Police motorcyclist riding 'too quick' before fatal collision - inquest

A police motorcyclist who crashed at 84mph (135km/h) in a 30mph zone while on an emergency call was riding "too quick", an inquest has heard.

PC Matt Lannie, of South Yorkshire Police, collided with a car on Nether Lane, Ecclesfield on 21 April 2020.

Collision investigator PC Rob Sawyers said he did not think the 40-year-old officer would have had time to properly assess risk.

The coroner concluded speed had been "a major factor" in the collision.

The officer had been responding to calls for help from colleagues who had stopped a car nearby, before it made off, Sheffield Coroner's Court heard.

PC Lannie rode his motorbike towards the incident using his blue lights, but without his siren on, over the brow of a hill and into a 30mph zone, Mr Sawyers told the court.

At the same time, car driver John Harrison was turning right into the Provincial Park industrial area, across the path of the oncoming motorcycle.

Mr Harrison told the court he never saw the motorcycle, but noticed a "yellow blur" partway through his turn just before his windscreen shattered.

On the approach to the crash site, PC Lannie went over a slight hill giving Mr Harrison just a few seconds to see the motorbike, PC Sawyers told the coroner.

However, he believed there was insufficient time to recognise the bike, work out the speed and then decide on a course of action before the collision.

"When you respond to an incident as a police driver, it doesn't come without responsibility," PC Sawyers said.

"From my perspective, PC Lannie has perhaps been riding too quick to risk-assess what is happening in front of him."

Giving a narrative conclusion, coroner David Urpeth said he felt the speed and topography meant neither driver could have avoided a collision.

"The speed of the motorcycle was a major factor in this collision," he said.

However, that had to be balanced against the fact that PC Lannie was "reasonably responding to a serious incident".

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