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Motorcyclist Alessandro Arcadipane died after bike slipped on oil in Brielle Way, Sheerness

A young motorcyclist could not have avoided being flung from his bike after it slipped on oil, an inquest heard.

Alessandro Arcadipane died from a devastating brain injury after the accident in Brielle Way, Sheerness on February 10.

The 26-year-old, of Lovell Road, Minster, was riding his Yamaha motor scooter away from the town when he lost control at about 10.10am.

Alex Arcadipane died in a crash in Brielle Way, Sheerness, earlier this month
Alex Arcadipane died in a crash in Brielle Way, Sheerness, earlier this month

Witnesses, including the driver of a red Citroen C2, which Mr Arcadipane collided with, reported seeing his rear wheel slide out, before he was thrown off the saddle.

There were also a number of reports of an object in the road, believed to have been a brake shoe, which had been covered in an oily substance and had been hit by numerous other vehicles.

The driver of a Fiesta had stopped and kicked it onto the verge after his vehicle had hit it.

Another witness had seen something fall from a vehicle being carried by a car transporter.

Collision investigation officer PC Mark Chapelhow told the hearing at Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone that it was not clear which vehicle the object had fallen from.

He said many other vehicles had hit the object and one of them had been damaged, causing oil to leak on the road, although he confirmed that the oil had not come from the Fiesta.

“Before the collision there was no evidence to say that he was riding in anything but a careful and controlled manner,” said PC Chapelhow.

Emergency crews at the scene of the accident in Brielle Way
Emergency crews at the scene of the accident in Brielle Way

“There was no evidence of excess speed or poor riding. There was nothing or little he could have done to regain control of his machine.

“The rear wheel will have slipped out and then all of a sudden it would’ve regained traction and that wheel will violently have flung him up.

"It’s known as a high-side because it throws the rider upwards. There’s nothing he could have done about that.”

Doctors at St George’s Hospital in London said he had suffered a “catastrophic” and “unsurviveable” head injury, as well as numerous other fractures, and he was pronounced dead on February 11.

Mr Arcadipane, who had a partner and two young children and was a heating engineer, died of a traumatic brain injury, said North East Kent senior coroner Patricia Harding.

Floral tributes left to Alex Arcadipane close to the scene of the accident in Brielle Way, Sheerness
Floral tributes left to Alex Arcadipane close to the scene of the accident in Brielle Way, Sheerness

Summing up, she added that it had been caused when he had been thrown from his scooter after it lost traction with the road surface as a result of the presence of oily contaminant on the road.

“There was no evidence of excess speed or poor riding. There was nothing or little he could have done to regain control of his machine" - PC Mark Chapelhow

“I am satisfied this was a tragic accident,” she concluded. “I formally conclude Mr Arcadipane died as a result of a road traffic collision.”

Alex's dad, Joe Arcadipane, 52, said: "I wasn't sure what happened until today.

"I had an appeal on the internet and it raised £1,000 and that's going towards his gravestone because it can't go up for a year.

"He was an organ donor so he has managed to help five people.

"It brings me great comfort to know people are living on in his memory.

"All I can say is he did a lot in his life, he tried and failed and tried again.

"Everything was centred around his girls. I never got to say goodbye to him."

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