Youth Dies During Motorcycle Test Ride
Illawarra Mercury
Thursday February 3, 2000
An apprentice mechanic was killed in Nowra while test riding a motorcycle he had just finished repairing, police said yesterday.
Tragically, the 17-year-old crashed into a truck also being test driven by another mechanic.
Police said the teenager had finished working on the cycle at a South Nowra garage at 4.20pm on Tuesday when he headed out of the driveway towards Queens Lane.
``He accelerated rapidly before hitting the lorry," a police spokesman said.
``The teenager apparently lost control of his bike and was still holding on to the handlebars but his body was flung into the air."
``He hit a Toyota truck travelling east along Queens Lane and was thrown underneath the vehicle. The man driving the truck was taking it for a test drive as well."
The teenager suffered massive head injuries and died at the scene.
Meantime a 25-year-old man from Pendle Hill in Sydney was airlifted to Wollongong Hospital yesterday after being hit by a truck as he crossed the Princes Hwy at Gerringong.
Police said the accident occurred at 8.30am about 500m north of Toolijoola Rd.
The highway was blocked while the Westpac Life Saver 3 Rescue Helicopter landed and retrieved the injured man.
He was rushed to Wollongong Hospital suffering head injuries.
The South East Region Crash Investigation Unit is investigating the cause of the crash.
© 2000 Illawarra Mercury