A coronial investigation has concluded that a 26-year-old man from Youngtown died in a horrific road accident due to being nearly four times the legal blood alcohol limit and riding a defective motorcycle.
Richard Keith Gesler died at the scene when his Suzuki GSX 750 motorcycle collided with the centre barrier on the East Tamar Highway near Rocherlea in September last year.
Post-mortem analysis revealed that Mr Gesler had a blood alcohol level of 0.180, nearly four times the legal limit.
Coroner Simon Cooper said that the risk of a driver with such a high blood alcohol concentration being involved in a crash is approximately 50 times higher than that of a sober driver.
He said Gesler’s death was not suspicious and did not involve any other person or factors, but that an inspection of the wrecked bike showed that its brakes were deficient.
A GoFundMe campaign set up to support Gesler’s family described him as a ‘happy soul, a loving father to his two young children and a devoted husband’.
