Death of young Wigan dad who lost control of his motorbike was 'immense tragedy'

Coroner Prof Dr Alan Walsh described the death of Charlie Brogan – just six months after the birth of his son – as “an immense tragedy”.

He was fatally injured when he came off his motorcycle on Spring Road, Orrell, at around 2.45pm on May 25, 2022.

Bolton Coroner’s Court heard he had been travelling at more than double the 30mph speed limit, along with a Mercedes car.

But police found there was no evidence the vehicles had collided and the car’s driver denied he was racing Charlie.

The court was told Charlie was a motorbike enthusiast, who loved riding and repairing the vehicles, and had bought the Yamaha YZF600 just two weeks earlier to travel to his job as a warehouse operative at Milliken, in Beech Hill.

That day, he finished work at 2pm, said goodbye to his dad Liam Brogan, who also worked at Milliken, and rode to Standish to meet his partner Mia Rugen at her grandmother’s house.

He arrived at around 2.30pm and left shortly afterwards on his motorbike, following Ms Rugen and their son in her car, to drive to their home in Pemberton.

The couple stopped for fuel for their vehicles and then continued their journey, with Charlie riding behind Ms Rugen’s Renault Clio before overtaking her near St John Rigby College.

Ms Rugen told the court Charlie was then following a Mercedes car and she was surprised when he turned left onto Spring Road, Orrell, as they usually drove a different way home.

She followed him and saw both the motorbike and car speed up, telling the coroner her partner was “known to be competitive on bikes”.

Ms Rugen’s car fell behind and she said she did not see Charlie overtake the Mercedes, but when she drove round a bend, she saw he had crashed his bike and assumed the two vehicles had collided.

Several witnesses told the inquest they saw the car and motorbike travelling at high speed, estimated to be between 50 and 60mph.

Charlie overtook the car outside the Heinz factory, with his bike said to be moving faster than the car at this point.

But he had problems as he approached a bend, with two drivers going in the opposite direction fearing he would collide with them.

Julia Bailey said: “The motorbike was coming towards me. He was near the central white line. As he was approaching the central reservation, he was banking as it he was about to take the bend. His knee was very close to the floor.

"He realised he wasn’t going to get round and he corrected himself and as he did, he started to wobble.”

Toni Reed saw Charlie’s motorbike “leaning over”, before he lost control as he went round the bend and hit the pavement.

While Charlie stood up after the crash and removed his helmet, he then collapsed and emergency services rushed to help.

But his injuries were “unsurvivable” and he was pronounced dead shortly before 4.10pm.

A post-mortem examination recorded he died from chest and abdominal injuries.

A police investigation was launched, with collision reconstruction officers going to Spring Road to piece together what happened.

Both vehicles were examined, with neither found to have defects, and CCTV footage was recovered from a pub and four properties on Spring Road.

Analysis revealed both the motorbike and car were travelling at “no less than 63mph” around 900m before the collision, while their average speeds in the 1,900m before the incident were 51mph and 49mph respectively.

The car had slowed before the crash and went round the bend after Charlie’s motorbike.

PC Andrew Cooper, a forensic collision reconstruction officer, said police were satisfied there had not been a collision between the two vehicles.

A file was put together for the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether charges, such as death by dangerous driving, should be brought against the Mercedes’ driver Lukarz Konarzewski.

But no action was taken as there was “insufficient” evidence he had been involved in “competitive driving or racing”.

Mr Konarzewski gave evidence during the inquest and answered the majority of questions, despite Prof Dr Walsh warning he did not have to reply to anything that could incriminate him.

He was driving to his workplace near the Heinz factory and was due to start at 3pm.

He had been travelling at 30mph, but said he increased his speed after turning onto Spring Road because he thought he would be late for work.

Mr Konarzewski denied he went faster to race Charlie, saying: “I never tried to race with anybody in my life.”

He said he slowed down when Charlie overtook his car, making a space for the motorbike to go in front, and again slowed down as he approached the bend on Spring Road.

Mr Konarzewski said: “When I got to the bend, I have seen the motorbike on the footpath and the biker was on the road. I didn’t see exactly what he hit.”

He stopped his car and stayed at the scene, before going to work and contacting police the next day, he said.

Mr Konarzewski, who was visibly upset, gave his condolences to Charlie’s family during the inquest.

After hearing the evidence, Prof Dr Walsh said Charlie’s death had been “extremely distressing” not just for his family and friends, but also everyone who witnessed what happened. He praised the people who tried to help, including witness Stephen Gibbon.

He said Charlie losing control of the motorbike had “catastrophic consequences” and recorded he died in a road traffic collision.

“I just think this was an immense tragedy and the loss of a young life and the loss of a parent to a child and the loss of someone who was greatly loved,” he said.