Finding into death of Danny Leigh Edlington
Deceased
Danny Leigh Edlington
Demographics
25y, male
Date of death
2015-04-04
Finding date
2018-07-11
Cause of death
Head injury sustained when he fell while negotiating a two-stage jump and was impacted by another rider and his motorcycle
AI-generated summary
Danny Leigh Edlington, a 25-year-old motorcyclist with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome affecting his right leg, died from a head injury sustained at the Frankston City Motorcycle Park on 4 April 2015. While attempting a two-stage jump on his third circuit of the day, he landed awkwardly on the plateau between jumps, fell, and inadvertently 'whiskey throttled' his motorcycle. He ended up on the crest of the second jump where he was struck by another rider approaching at 80-90 km/h. The collision was unavoidable given the second rider was already airborne. Mr Edlington was appropriately equipped with safety gear and had familiarised himself with the track through two prior circuits. The coroner identified that the inherent dangers of motocross riding persist even at designed venues, and recommended that track operators implement protocols requiring rider separation through staggered starts to minimise collision risk.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Collision with second rider approaching at high speed while airborne
- Unfamiliarity with track layout despite two prior circuits that day
- Whiskey throttle phenomenon during fall attempt
- High number of riders on track (22 motorcycles present, previously up to 50 allowed)
- Lack of separation protocols between riders on track
- Inherent dangers of motocross riding at recreational venues
Coroner's recommendations
- That FCMP develops protocols or guidelines to be enforced by their officials at the track requiring separation of riders by requiring them to stagger their starts and/or otherwise maintain a safe distance from each other in order to minimise the risk of collision between riders and the risk that they may collide with each other and or come into contact with each other when one has already come to grief
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