Blinco, Ricky Glenn; Last, Michael Wayne
Deceased
Michael Wayne Last, Ricky Glenn Blinco
Demographics
35y, male
Date of death
2005-06-25, 2007-01-16
Finding date
2008-05-02
Cause of death
Last: head injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash; Blinco: multiple injuries sustained in a motor vehicle crash
AI-generated summary
Two men died in separate incidents at Black Duck Valley recreational 4WD and motorbike park. Michael Last (35) died attempting a long-distance motorcycle jump while inexperienced; Ricky Blinco (23) died when his 4WD lost control on a severely eroded, dangerous track. Both deaths were preventable. Critical failures included: inadequate risk assessment and management; no evaluation of user competence or experience; poor facility maintenance; dangerous jump designed for professionals accessible to anyone; tracks not properly inspected or maintained; minimal signage or information provided; operators prioritized liability over safety. The coroner concluded that regulation is necessary as voluntary management has failed. Key preventive measures include: mandating operator membership in sports bodies; requiring comprehensive risk audits; establishing development approval mechanisms; implementing track classification standards using recognized criteria.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Inadequate risk management at recreational facility
- No assessment of user competence or experience
- Poorly designed and maintained jump facility accessible to novices
- Track not properly maintained or inspected
- Dangerous track conditions with severe erosion and vertical drop-offs
- Insufficient information provided to users about track difficulty and hazards
- Inadequate signage and track classification
- Operators prioritized liability protection over user safety
- No formal safety protocols or supervision
- Facility culture of allowing unrestricted access regardless of skill level
Coroner's recommendations
- Amend the Integrated Planning Act and/or Integrated Planning Regulation to require local authorities assessing development applications for outdoor recreation facilities to refer applications to the Department of Local Government, Sport and Recreation
- The Department of Local Government, Sport and Recreation should stipulate continuing membership of the appropriate outdoor sports or recreation body as a condition of application approval, or alternatively require compliance with relevant Adventure Activity Standards
- The Division of Workplace Health and Safety should review its determination that public safety incidents at recreational facilities like BDV are outside its investigative jurisdiction, and undertake a full risk audit of the facility with appropriate enforcement action
- The chief forensic pathologist should develop guidelines to assist pathologists conducting coronial autopsies identify cases in which vitreous humour should be collected for toxicological analysis
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