This is a statment I sent to the Perth coroner after being abused by York residents on the Sunday Times web blog attached to the news story about the death of this kid. It was preventable, forseeable and no accident, I believe the father of the child is responsible for very obvious reasons. He was aware fully that letting his son ride this bike unregistered and unlicensed on public roads could have lead to his sons death. Goodness knows I had lodged enough complaints about local bike riders suicidal behaviour. I have received information that the bike involved was a very powerful one. Also the issue of compensation comes up in regard to the young lady involved. Will the deceased lads father sell his property to pay for the damages this young lady has sustained as a result of the fathers actions and hence his sons sucidal actions- I think not, nobody in York takes responsibility for their actions as far as I am conceerned
29/1/12- STATEMENT TO CORONER- PERTH
On 25th January this year at the corner of Spencer Brook Road and sixth Road York a 15 year old boy was killed as a result of a collision with a car, his pillion passenger a young female was seriously injured. I am not aware of the boys name but I am aware that his father’s name is Trevor and my ex partner Sheryl Woodyard who lives at 2 sixth road York has pointed out the house where the deceased boy lived.
I lived at 2 sixth Road york from 2004 until 2006. The house I lived in faces the York Motocross track which is about 100 metres from the front door which faces spencer Brook Road, the house is also about 100 metres from the deceased boys residence.
In 2004 when I first moved into the house at York I had cause to lodge complaints with the York Police, The York Council and the York Motocross club. My complaint was in regard to the deceased boys family, in fact his older brother. The house where the deceased lived quite often had trail bikes riding around in the front yard. I had cause to lodge complaints to the police when on many occasions I observed a boy from this house riding a trail bike south down Sixth Road in an erratic and dangerous fashion towards the York Motocross track on Spencer Brook Road. He would then cross Spencer Brook Road at speed and mostly without a helment
The boy would also ride along the railway track which is parallel to Spencer Brook road and is private railway property. Many times I stopped this boy and warned him offI also warned him about his dangerous riding but was simply abused. I witnessed this boy and many other young men riding on Sixth Road and also Spencer Brook Road in an extremely dangerous fashion at least every day and on the weekends I witnessed many near misses as bikes often pulled out off the motocross track to ride along Spencer Brook Road. The riders would ride in a reckless and dangerous manner, doing burnouts, doing wheel stands and doughnuts and also racing each other.
On many occasions in 2004 I contacted the police in regard to this, the police were reluctant to take any action and actually asked me to try and “fit in “ to the local community and stop making complaints, the deceased boys father “Trevor” was spoken to by the police to the best of my knowledge and alerted to the fact that his son or sons were riding unlicensed trail bikes without licenses on a public road in a dangerous and erratic manner. The illegal behaviour continued until I left York in 2006. When I would occasionally visit it was still going on.
It was my view to both the police, the council and the motocross club that pretty soon somebody would be killed. I even had cause to write to the local newspaper about it. For my trouble I was victimised, harassed and abused by both members of the York Motocross club and by parents of bike riders and the bike riders themselves. I received death threats and was abused on the street.The council and the police ignored me. The reckless and dangerous riding continued on and on until of course this young man was killed.
One of my reasons for writing is that I know the coroner must deal with the aspects of culpability, liability and responsibility as well as possible compensation. As you are aware a young woman has been seriously injured and a young man traumatised after hitting this motorbike and rider on the road. Many times I have seen up to twenty young riders on the York motocross track ranging in ages from 9 up to about 17.
Rarely did I ever see any parents supervising their children while they were riding, they were simply left to their own devices to ride as they pleased, on the public road, in surrounding bush that is actually private property, along the private railway line and virtually anywhere where they were not supposed to ride.
I could see quite clearly that the community of York simply wanted this type of behaviour to continue unabated, nobody wanted to take responsibility nor do anything about it. The council was well aware how dangerous the position of this motocross track was yet they sat on their hands, it runs less than 10 metres from the main Spencer Brook Road. The Moto cross club seem to have the attitude that they are above the law and that unlicensed riders and unregistered bikes riding on the public road is just something that is tolerated in York, in fact encouraged.
I have had cause to comment on an internet blog which was attached to the story of this young mans death on the Sunday Times web site. I have stated that I predicted that a death would occur and that reckless riding at this dangerous track must cease, as should unlicensed riders and unregistered bikes. Many York residents have abused me on this blog claiming that the parents of the deceased child have done nothing wrong nor has the deceased child. This is the sort of red necked behaviour you have to deal with in york. Not only does the vast majority of the York motocross members feel nothing wrong has occurred a small group of York residents also have this view.
I am of the view that the York Council had enough information from me to form the reasonable view that a death may occur, The police also had this information as did the York Motocross club and also the parents of the dead boy and the boy himself.
My view and it may not be the courts view is that they are all culpable to some extent as well as liable and in some part responsible for what has happened, a reasonable person, given the facts as I quite often reported them could come to the logical conclusion that eventually a death would occur. I ask, why was this boy allowed by his father to ride on a public road without a license, without registration and without his fathers supervision and with his fathers full knowledge. The fact that the police, motocross club, the local council and the boys parents did not act as well as the community of York’s attitude in general created a deadly environment with the full knowledge of the inherent danger of what they were or were not doing.
In closing I would say that there seems to be an unhealthy attitude in York that this sort of behaviour is quite OK and that any person pointing it out should be dealt with swiftly and the illegal and deadly behaviour allowed to continue because that’s just the way we do things in York, they seem to think they are immune from the law or any responsibility. When making your finding in relation to this death I ask that you take my statement into consideration.
Yours faithfully Trevor Wayne Dunen
For the doubters note my own motorbike history- I rode xr 75 Hondas and YZ 80 Yamahas at the age of 14. I then rode a GSX 250s for a year from 18-19 before moving on to a Honda CB750 F2c which I clocked up over 200,000 km on. Then I had a GSX 750 Katana followed by a FZR 1000 Yamaha and an FJ 1200 Yamaha. I have raced professionally for a year in Queensland and ridden around Australia twice. I know my bikes and just how dangerous they can be.
