A BOURNEMOUTH man who was hit by a motorcycle on the way to work in Southampton died after suffering a traumatic head injury, an inquest heard.

Adam Wilcox, 55, had parked his car outside the White Swan pub in West End and was walking up Mansbridge Road to a nearby construction site.

When he crossed the road through heavy traffic, he was clipped by a motorbike, causing him to ‘fly backwards’. His skull was fractured by the impact with the ground.

The motorcycle rider has been identified as Denzil Cannavo of Turnstone Gardens, Southampton. Winchester Coroner’s Court heard how the power of Mr Cannavo’s vehicle was in excess of what his licence allowed.

Mr Wilcox, of Colehill Crescent, had been crossing the road with Christopher Cole, a colleague, on March 7.

Mr Cole said: “I knew Adam from a previous job. We had both parked up in the pub and walked together. We were crossing through the traffic and the motorcycle was riding down the right-hand side of the stationary cars to get past.

“I saw the bike and stopped, but Adam kept walking. When he was clipped by the handlebars, he flew backwards quite a way and smacked his head on the floor. The rider was a young lad who was shaken up.

“Adam regained conciousness a short while after and seemed agitated.”

At the time of the collision, the motorcycle was thought to have been travelling between 15 and 20mph. PC Andrew Daw, forensic collision investigator, said there was not enough time for the motorcycle to stop.

Mr Wilcox was taken to Southampton General Hospital, where he died the following morning.

Professor James Nicoll, consultant pathologist at Southampton General, described the injuries as “irreversible”.

He said: “The skull had been fractured. Mr Wilcox also suffered a subdural haemorrhage on the left side of the brain.

"He was taken to the neuro-intensive care unit. The injuries were irreversible.”

Senior coroner Christopher Wilkinson concluded the death as a road traffic collision. He said he would write a report to the local council in hope that pedestrian crossings in Mansbridge Road will be made safer.

n On September 26, Cannavo, 23, pleaded guilty to drug driving and driving without a licence. He was given a 12-month conditional discharge, ordered to pay a victim surcharge and court costs, and banned from the roads for a year.