Royal Navy sailor killed by actions of scooter rider

Aircraft engineer Rohan Hicks died instantly after his motorcycle was hit by a Honda scooter ridden by a 31-year-old Lawrence King, who later received a suspended jail sentence for causing death by careless driving.

King, aged 31, was trying to overtake a line of three cars on the B3252 at Horningtops, near Liskeard, to go past the cars just before 10 pm on June 29, 2022.

An inquest at Cornwall Coroner's Court was told by an independent witness that King was 'riding like an idiot' and 'showing off to people' in one of the cars.

Rohan Hicks was killed by the reckless actions of a scooter rider (Image: Supplied)

The coroner was told RN Air Engineering Technician Hicks could be seen up to three seconds before the collision.

King appeared at Truro Crown Court in May this year where he admitted driving without due care and attention and was jailed for one year, suspended for two years, and banned from driving for five years.

During the inquest hearing, Mr Hicks' parents Emma and Jack said:"This man has got away with killing my son. The justice system, the judge and the CPS have failed, the system is broken. He is a scumbag."

The assistant coroner Guy Davies said King’s riding was reckless and said: "I find that King was probably racing when he made the overtake."

Mr Davies said King gave two accounts which were at 'odds with each other' and described him as 'an unreliable witness'.

He said Mr Hicks, from Looe, Cornwall, was not at fault at all but said King's reckless riding and racing caused his death. coroner recorded a road traffic collision conclusion.

The victim, who was being fast tracked for promotion in the Navy, died from blunt head injury and died at the scene.

He had trained at RAF Yeovilton in Somerset and served at RNAS Culdrose. He was based at HMS Sultan at Gosport at the time of his death.

The coroner recorded a road traffic collision conclusion.