'Speed, alcohol' caused trail bike death

The 23-year-old, known for legal reasons as ZM, fatally crashed the trail bike into a pole around 9pm on Christmas Day 2020, in the Hobart suburb of Claremont.

In his findings, coroner Robert Webster said CCTV footage showed ZM, just before the crash, speeding and doing a wheelie, then losing control of the bike, which struck a gutter.

"The motorcycle then collided with a steel bus stop pole and both the motorcycle and ZM have struck a wooden paling fence ... He was not wearing a helmet at the time," the coroner said in findings handed down this week.

ZM, who was warned earlier in the day not to ride the bike because he was drunk, had a blood alcohol level of .124 when he died, Mr Webster found, noting that it made a crash up to 50 times more likely than a level of zero.

In the lead-up to the smash, ZM's ex-girlfriend and her friend ran after him in a bid to stop him riding after realising he was drunk, the coroner also found.

ZM was going 96 km/h in a 50 km/h zone at the time, as per the findings.

"He lost control of the motorcycle and crashed which resulted in his fatal injuries. The roadway, environment and weather conditions did not contribute to this crash," the coroner said.

"Excessive speed on it own or in combination with excessive alcohol consumption or the consumption of drugs, as the community knows all too well, can and did in this case have tragic consequences."

The coroner also noted, while "not causative of the accident", ZM was unlicensed and the motorcycle he was riding was unregistered.

He also pointed to the "poor behaviour" of ZM's friends who removed the bike after the crash and abused paramedics.

"In my view Tasmania police ought not hesitate to prosecute bystanders who behave in this manner particularly when the crash scene is the workplace of a police officer or an emergency service worker," the coroner said.

Australian Associated Press