A YOUNG father was killed when his motorbike collided with an oncoming vehicle, an inquest heard.

Dean Wickenden , 19, of Canterbury Street, Gillingham, had become a dad just two weeks before the fatal crash on July 4, 2006, shortly before 5pm.

The teenager was on his way home from work, travelling down Pear Tree Lane, Gillingham, when the accident happened.

The inquest, held in Gillingham, heard how the bricklayer had been riding his Suzuki motorbike downhill, towards Luton when he approached a lorry in the lane in front of him.

Mr Wickenden had to slow down suddenly as the lorry slowed in front of him on a bend. It is thought he then chose to go around the lorry because he knew he wouldn’t be able to slow down in time.

He pulled out from behind the HGV into the path of an oncoming van, collided with the vehicle and was thrown off the machine.

The driver of the lorry, Graham Harvey, told the inquest the first he know about the crash was when Dean’s bike slid past him.

He said: “I hadn’t been aware of a bike behind me. When I saw the bike, I looked in my wing mirror and saw a body lying in the road.”

Coroner Roger Sykes concluded: “Dean Wickenden’s death was the result of a tragic accident. He had not been travelling in excess of the speed limit and he did not intend to overtake the lorry in front of him.

“However, because he had previously overtaken other vehicles, his speed was inconsistent with being able to drive safely behind the lorry, which had begun to slow down because of two cyclists ahead.

“This meant that Dean had to carry out a manoeuvre that took him slightly outside of his lane, causing him to collide with an oncoming van.”

Verdict: accidental death.