A coroner has ruled that excessive speed and drugs in a motorcyclist’s system cannot be proven to have caused the crash which killed him and his passenger on a Worcester road.
An inquest hearing into the deaths of Stephen Symonds, 41, and Hayley Kirkman, who died following a crash on Tunnel Hill in March, was held at Worcestershire Coroner’s Court, Stourport, on Monday (September 28).
Opening the hearing, assistant coroner Deborah Larkin said: “At the heart of what I do today are grieving friends and families.”
Members of both Mr Symonds’ and Ms Kirkman’s families attended the hearing.
A tribute to Ms Kirkman from her family was read out to the court by Ms Larkin, which described the 34-year-old as “loved by many” and having her whole life ahead of her.
Hayley Kirkman’s family paid tribute to her (Image: Leigh Smith)
The inquest heard that Mr Symonds, of Tolladine Road, Worcester, was riding a Yamaha motorcycle with Ms Kirkman, of Weasel Avenue, Droitwich, as his pillion passenger, on March 19, 2026.
The pair were riding along Tunnel Hill, while a Lexus being used as an Uber was travelling in the opposite direction.
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In a witness statement read out by Ms Larkin, one of the passengers of the Uber described how the driver had been travelling at around 20mph to 25mph as they approached the crest of the hill, when they saw the motorcycle approaching them.
The inquest heard the Yamaha motorcycle was estimated to be travelling between 45mph and 54mph when Mr Symonds began to brake, above Tunnel Hill’s speed limit of 30mph, while the Uber was travelling very slowly or had already come to a stop.
Despite efforts from both Mr Symonds and the Uber driver to avoid a collision, the motorcycle crashed into the front of the Uber, making what one witness inside the Lexus described as an “almighty bang,” the inquest was told.
The court heard that the pair were thrown off the motorcycle, which continued to “slide down the road” until it hit a Peugeot and eventually settled around 40 metres away.
The two passengers in the Uber, who were student nurses at the University of Worcester, began trying to help the pair, while the driver called 999.
Mr Symonds died at the scene, while Ms Kirkman was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, where she died on March 22.
Tributes were left by the roadside following the crash in March (Image: NQ)
Mr Symonds’ post-mortem found the 41-year-old had “medium levels” of THC and cocaine in his body, but they could not estimate when the drugs entered his body.
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Concluding her report, Ms Larkin told the court that the speed Mr Symonds had been riding at, and the drugs in his system, could not be proven to be definitive factors in their deaths.
She said: “There is no evidence to prove to me that they had any contribution to their deaths.”
After the coroner concluded her report, a heated exchange between members of both victims’ families began, with the coroner calling for order and requesting that they be separated.
Mr Symonds’ death was recorded as being the result of multiple injuries as a result of the crash, with the use of cocaine and cannabis recorded as a secondary cause.
Ms Kirkman’s death was recorded as also being the result of multiple injuries caused by the crash.
