A Hobart man who was already banned from driving died after crashing his motorcycle while travelling at nearly double the speed limit, a coronial investigation has found.
John Anthony Curtis, 36, was riding his Suzuki motorcycle on the Brooker Avenue on January 16, 2024, when he collided with a car turning right into Brisbane Street.
He was travelling at approximately 120km/h in a 70km/h zone.
Curtis suffered catastrophic injuries and was treated at the Royal Hobart Hospital for eight weeks before his life support was switched off on March 16, 2024.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart found Curtis’s death was primarily caused by his own “deliberate act of irresponsible driving”.
“… If Mr Curtis had been travelling at the speed limit of 70km/h, as he should have been, the crash would not have occurred,” she said, citing the opinion of a crash investigator.
One witness told investigators Curtis’s riding had caught his attention at a red light moments before the crash.
“When the light went green I accelerated normally and the bike took off at speed,” he said.
Other witnesses estimated the motorcycle was travelling between 100km/h and 110km/h.
The driver of the Holden Captiva was turning right to collect his wife from the Royal Hobart Hospital when the collision occurred.
McTaggart noted the driver failed to give way properly and that “a higher degree of vigilance would have allowed him to see the motorcycle”.
However, she found Curtis’s speed was the predominant cause of the crash.
At the time of the collision, Curtis was subject to a court-imposed driving ban for drug-driving offences and was on bail with a condition not to drive.
He had a court appearance scheduled six days later.
Curtis had suffered a serious brain injury in a car accident at the age of 22, leaving him in a coma for three months and unable to work.
The coroner made no recommendations, noting the intersection’s crash history did not warrant changes.
