A teenager died after crashing into a 16-year-old while doing wheelies at up to 80km/h on an unregistered dirt bike in Bridgewater, a coroner has found.
William Anthony Trinder, 19, was injured on Killarney Road in Hobart’s northern suburbs on December 13, 2024. He died in hospital four days later.
Coroner Madeleine Wilson found “excessive speed and the performance of a wheel stand were strong contributing factors in the collision”.
Trinder was riding a Yamaha YZ450 up and down the street with a friend, who was also on an unregistered trail bike.
The Yamaha was built for off-road use and could not be registered or legally ridden on Tasmanian roads.
At 7:20pm, the 16-year-old was riding a petrol-powered bicycle downhill with two friends.
Cars were parked along one side of the street, so he was riding near the middle of the road.
Trinder was coming the other way mid-wheelie. As he dropped his front wheel, it slammed into the 16-year-old’s bike and split it in two.
Trinder was thrown over the handlebars. He rolled and slid several metres before hitting a parked car. The 16-year-old suffered serious head injuries.
Witnesses estimated Trinder was travelling at 70 to 80km/h in a 50km/h zone. It was sunny and the road was dry.
Bystanders started CPR on Trinder before both riders were taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital, where Trinder was later declared brain dead.
He had been wearing a full-face helmet and goggles.
Toxicology tests found cannabis and an alcohol reading of 0.040 in his system.
Neither caused his death, but a toxicologist said the two together can slow reactions and make it harder to avoid a crash.
The coroner said it could not be ruled out that they played a part.
Trinder had ridden dirt bikes since he was three or four. His father described him as a “really good rider” who was safety conscious.
He had recently started work at a plastering business and had been offered a full-time job for 2025.
His organs were donated after his death. Wilson praised Trinder and his family for that decision.
The coroner made no recommendations in her findings.
