Wales: Boy, 4, crashed into a metal pole for the first time on a mini-motorcycle and died

A young boy was killed while riding his new mini-motorcycle for the first time after crashing into a metal post, an inquest has found.

Four-year-old Jacob Gamlin-Turner was out with his family to try out his new ride but had the fatal accident after apparently “hitting a bump”.

He then veered off course and crashed into the fence post, suffering “unsurvivable” head injuries and internal bleeding.

His family made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his ventilator just after midnight on May 5 last year, after the accident the previous day.

Sports enthusiast Jacob had longed to ride motocross after watching his older brother compete in the sport.

His father, Ross Turner, took Jacob to Britannia Sports Field in Blackwood, South Wales, to try out his latest bike for the first time with his grandfather and a friend.

The investigation revealed that he was wearing an orange and white motocross kit along with full protective gear when he got on the bike.

Chief Medical Examiner Caroline Saunders said: “Ross felt this would be a safe place for Jacob to take his first ride on his new motorcycle.”

Investigation revealed that Jacob had enjoyed trying out other mini motorcycles before getting his own.

The three adults “stand in a triangle” while Jacob rides his bike from one to the other.

But the hearing was told that Jacob “appears to have hit a bump” when he turned and hit the fence post on May 4 last year.

The inquest found that he “opened the throttle uncontrollably” before throwing himself off his bike and hitting the fence.

Ross from Blackwood ran to try desperately to stop the collision before finding Jacob on the ground unresponsive.

The inquest revealed that he performed CPR while paramedics rushed to the scene and managed to revive Jacob.

He was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff with “unsurvivable” head injuries, internal bleeding, broken ribs and a spinal dislocation.

His devastated family was by his side at the neighboring Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital when his ventilator was turned off.

Collision investigators found the motorcycle to be in “good working condition and commensurate with its age.”

Coroner Ms Saunders said: “Jacob was a four-year-old little boy who loved sports and the outdoors from the day he was born.

“His passion was his motorcycle and he had a fascination for motorcycling.”

The inquest in Newport, Gwent found his medical cause of death was given as traumatic brain injury.

Ms Saunders said: “Jacob Gamlin-Turner died at the University Hospital of Wales on May 5, 2021 from fatal head injuries sustained the previous day when the child’s motorbike he was riding collided with a metal post.”

The coroner recorded an accidental death.

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