A Tasmanian coroner has warned against fitting the wrong parts to quad bikes after a 16-year-old boy died when a wheel came off mid-ride.
The teenager was killed on October 18, 2023, when his quad bike crashed on Minnies Road near Wynyard.
He suffered fatal chest injuries after being pinned between the bike and a tree.
An investigation found the right rear wheel had come off because the wrong type of nuts had been used to attach aftermarket rims bought on eBay.
The boy’s father had fitted the wheels just two weeks earlier, knowing the nuts weren’t correct but believing they would do the job.
“It is essential that only the correct nuts are used to secure wheels to quad bikes,” Coroner Simon Cooper said in his recently published findings.
Investigators also found the wheels were missing secondary hubs designed to lock them securely in place.
Nothing on the eBay listing indicated the extra hubs were required, the coroner noted.
Over the two weeks after fitting, the holes in both rims became enlarged and elongated through use. “Either would have failed,” Cooper said.
“It is essential that anyone buying equipment or parts for a quad bike off the internet ensure that they have purchased equipment that is fit for purpose.”
The boy had been riding the unregistered bike on public roads that afternoon, despite only holding a learner’s permit.
He was wearing a motocross helmet, but it wasn’t properly fastened.
The coroner said witnesses reported seeing him riding “a little too quickly” before the crash around 5:30pm.
Police found his body early the next morning after his stepmother reported him missing around 9pm.
The quad bike was travelling about 30km/h when it left the gravel forestry road, well under the 80km/h speed limit.
“No one should fit wheels to quad bikes without appropriate experience, expertise or qualifications,” the coroner said.
Cooper also noted that quad bikes are “inherently dangerous vehicles that should never be ridden by children”.
The investigation found no evidence of mechanical defects, poor road conditions or involvement of another person.
