Mother's tribute to son who died in bike accident

Jacob Chothia, 21, died on Burnley Road, between Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd, in the early hours of August 10 last year after losing control of his red Yamaha motorcycle, Bradford Coroner’s Court heard.

Following the hearing, his mother Michelle Greenwood paid tribute to her “passionate, spiritual and caring son” and described the outpouring of grief that followed the accident.

She said: “Jake had everything going for him. Why do they take such beautiful people in their prime? He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him.

“Since he passed I have realised how many people he touched. People are still ringing me now to tell me their stories and talk about how he used to take homeless people in.

“People couldn’t get in the crematorium, it was too full. It was clear that he had touched so many people’s hearts. He was constantly smiling and jumping about.

“Even on the night he died he was having a debate with the taxi driver about how people should live life to the full – that’s him.”

The court heard that on August 9 he had a family meal but later left on his motorcycle to see an “on/off girlfriend” who had contacted him.

After he left that address later in the evening, going out to look for a friend he thought may be distressed, Jacob was next seen by police officers in Hebden Bridge. The court heard he came close to hitting their car while travelling in the wrong direction down a one way street.

He was stopped and in an exchange that lasted around 10 seconds, in which they asked if they could speak to him, he set off at speed along Burnley Road towards Mytholmroyd.

Though he was an experienced motorcyclist, Jacob did not have a licence for a bike that powerful and did not have insurance. The court heard his bike came off the road near to a bend on the road and was found on August 11 after Jacob had been reported missing.

The bike had and road surface had “no defects” and were not factors in the accident.

There was no evidence that any other vehicle was involved.

The court heard that although Jacob, who lived in Mytholmroyd and used to live in Wyke, had two beers earlier in the evening this would have been unlikely to have affected him later. A toxicology test also found “nothing significant”.

It was established that the bike had travelled at a speed of up to 69mph but Assistant Coroner Peter Merchant said he could not be satisfied the bike was travelling at that speed at the time of the accident.

The court heard that the lights were not working on bollards on adjacent to where Jacob crashed due to an earlier and unrelated accident, but it could not be concluded that this was contributing factor.

Mr Merchant concluded that Jake died of multiple injuries consistent with a road traffic collision. He said: “Jake had so much to offer and although I did not meet him it certainly seems that was the case. I would like to convey my condolences to Jake’s family. It is a clear he was a man of many talents and it is tragic someone so young should die in such circumstances.”

After Jacob’s death, friends raised money to have half of his ashes shot into the air as part of a fireworks display near Malham in North Yorkshire.

Miss Greenwood said: “He went up in rockets at Gordale Scar. He used to lay up there. He would go up there and just look at the stars.”