A Shropshire police worker has spoken of her horror at witnessing a fatal motorbike crash.
Sheila Morris, who has been counter clerk at Market Drayton police station for nearly 30 years, said seeing the collision brought back memories of the death of her nephew 10 years ago in a bike crash.
Miss Morris was driving home to Shropshire from Lincoln on Sunday with her partner, David Lovatt, and step-sons Nicholas, 19, and 17-year-old Andrew, when they saw a smash between a car and a motorcycle on the opposite carriageway.
The family were travelling on the A52 in Derbyshire, just before 8pm, when they saw the crash.
“I screamed when I saw it happen,” said Miss Morris. “I have never seen anything like it in my life before.
“I pulled over straight away, as you do, to help and Nicholas, who is a trained first aider, got straight out of the car and crossed the barrier in the middle of the road to try and help.
“There was a man lying in the middle of the road and his motorcycle was a few hundreds yards away.
“When we got there a group of medical students were already trying to help him, but they told us it was too late.
“It was horrendous. I was in shock for the first few days afterwards. I just wish we could have done something to help and my heart goes out to the man’s family.”
Once they realised nothing more could be done the family helped to alert traffic before the police arrived.
Miss Morris said the experience brought back memories of her nephew, Nigel Roberts, from Whitchurch, who was killed in bike crash on the A5 near Llangollen, in June 1998, aged just 24.
Miss Morris said: “I was very close to my nephew and it reminded me of his death. We just wanted to help the man.”
Derbyshire Police today named the man as 40-year-old Darren Richardson, from Beeston, Nottinghamshire.
A spokesman said the rider of the motorcycle was dead at the scene.
By Andy Rogers
Share this article:
What are these?