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Cause of Rainham crash that killed Gillingham motorcyclist Andrew 'Mobi' King remains a mystery

The family of a Gillingham motorcyclist who died after a crash with a car will never know exactly why he lost control of his bike.

Father-of-two Andrew King, who was known as Mobi, was killed when his Yamaha was in a smash with a Toyota Corolla - splitting its fuel tank and causing an explosion.

An inquest heard the 46-year-old, of Castlemaine Avenue, was riding along Berengrave Lane, Rainham, at around 9am on June 4 last year.

Tragic Mobi King with his two young sons
Tragic Mobi King with his two young sons

He had overtaken a woman driving a Vauxhall around 100 metres before the crash and she confirmed he was not driving dangerously or haphazardly.

Giving evidence, PC Derek Mole said CCTV footage confirms this and sees him head back into the left lane, within the 30mph limit, but the coverage ends there.

Seconds later Mr King, who ran Kingswood Tattoo Studio in Rainham High Street, hit the offside of the Toyota car coming in the other direction.

Police sign appealing for witnesses after the crash
Police sign appealing for witnesses after the crash

During an inquest at the Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone, driver Howard Aislabie said: "The bike just appeared. He was about 30 metres away on my side of the road, zig-zagging out of control."

Breaking down in tears, Mr Aislabie added: "It all happened in a flash."

John Mort, the only passenger in the car, said: "The bike came round the bend ahead of us and I said 'he's going to hit us' and covered my face. I heard the crash and saw the explosion."

PC Mole added: "The damage to the car was low, indicating the bike must have been going down on its side at the time of the crash. Possibly out of [Mr King's] control."

Floral tributes left at the scene of the crash
Floral tributes left at the scene of the crash

Mr King was not intoxicated, there were no environmental or road surface issues which might have caused him to lose control and there were no other witnesses to the incident, the inquest heard.

Dr David Rouse, who carried out a post-mortem examination at Medway Maritime Hospital, said the cause of death was multiple injuries.

Coroner Patricia Harding said: "Mr King was an experienced motorbike rider. Why he lost control is not something I am able to determine from the evidence.”

She concluded Mr King's death was a result of a road traffic collision.

Funeral of Mobi King at Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham
Funeral of Mobi King at Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham

Andrew King had been with his wife, Tasja Woods, for 23 years and they have two children together, William, seven, and four-year-old Mitchell.

Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Woods said: "The outcome doesn't bring him back.

"My two little boys have got to live the rest of their lives without the love and care of their father.

"My two little boys have got to live the rest of their lives without the love and care of their father..." - widow Tasja Woods

"They are desperately saddened by the loss of their dad, their lives have been torn apart. We're just coping by taking it one day at a time.

"He was a lovely man and I miss him every day.

"I thought we would spend the rest of our lives together, but he was taken away from me."

Motorcyclists turned out in force to pay their final respects to Mr King when his coffin was carried to his funeral on a motorbike and sidecar in June last year.

In another tribute to the tattoo artist, mourners "wore their ink with pride", showing off some of the artwork he had created.


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