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Connor King, 24, died after crashing quad bike into parked cars in Folkestone

A 'charismatic and fun' young man died after the quad bike he was riding crashed into parked cars.

Father-of-one Connor King, 24, was testing his new bike when the collision happened on August 26 this year in Folkestone.

Connor King died after crashing his quad bike in Folkestone. All pictures courtesy of King family
Connor King died after crashing his quad bike in Folkestone. All pictures courtesy of King family

Emergency services were called but sadly nothing could be done to save Mr King.

Yesterday, an inquest into his death concluded it was an accident.

Now, his mum, Tara King, has paid tribute to her son, and says his death has left a huge hole in his family's lives.

Miss King said: "He was a fun, charismatic young man. He was full of beans and always mucking about, doing silly things.

"He liked to make things good again and liked to fix up old bikes. He was a tinkerer and had a man shed where he would fix things.

Connor with his son Ashden
Connor with his son Ashden

"He will be missed so much by all his friends and family.

"He touched the lives of everyone he met."

Sadly Miss King's other son, Ashley, died in 2017.

She said: "I'm going to have a hole now forever in my heart."

At yesterday's inquest, Mr King's family raised their concerns over a mechanical issue with the throttle on the quad bike.

L-R Connor with mum Tara, sister Charlotte and brother Ashley
L-R Connor with mum Tara, sister Charlotte and brother Ashley

During the hearing, held at the Shepway Centre in Maidstone and attended by his mum, sister Charlotte and fiance Kiera, it was heard Mr King was travelling in Wellington Road, where he lived, towards Church Road.

But he approached the junction 'at speed' and failed to stop, crashing into parked cars and a telegraph pole.

Mr King, an air conditioning engineer, came off the quad bike following the collision, with witnesses describing an 'almighty thump' at the point of impact.

His mother, who had been alerted to the crash, was one of the first to arrive and with the help of passers-by gave CPR to Mr King, but he was declared dead at the scene.

During the inquest it was heard that Mr King had only purchased the quad bike the day before, and the purpose of the ride was to test the new bike and make sure it was 'in good order'.

Connor (on the right) with his fiance Kiera, brother Ashley and mum Tara
Connor (on the right) with his fiance Kiera, brother Ashley and mum Tara

An investigation later found a fault with the rear brake.

However it was heard that if the brake had been working properly, it would still not have prevented the crash, just slowed it down to 'half the speed'.

Coroner Christopher Sutton-Mattocks said it might not ever be known why Mr King was travelling at speed, which was thought to be 48mph in a 30mph zone.

It was also heard Mr King was not wearing a helmet, although this is not a legal requirement on a quad bike.

Speaking during the inquest, Miss King said she believed there had been an intermittent issue with the throttle on the quad bike and said Mr King had said it was making a 'put put' sound.

Connor and Ashden
Connor and Ashden

She said this could have possibly contributed to the collision, because she doesn't know why Mr King would be travelling at speed otherwise.

Mr Sutton-Mattocks gave Mr King's cause of death as severe head injury and associated aspiration of food content and concluded his death an accident.

Mr Sutton-Mattocks added that speed caused the crash but said 'why he was driving at speed isn't known' and said he has heard about problems with the throttle.

He expressed his condolences to Mr King's family and friends.

Mr King's brother, Ashley King, was killed in an accident while dismantling cars while at work at VJ Automotives in Folkestone's Park Farm industrial estate in November 2017.

A jury of 11 returned a verdict of death by misadventure following a two-day inquest at Maidstone's Archbishop's Palace in January 2019.

Read more: All the latest news from Folkestone

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