Wheelie led to death of man riding on powerful motorbike

A man riding a powerful sports motorcycle died after a wheelie due to a burst of acceleration sent the vehicle out of control.

Piotr Jarlinksi (29), who was originally from Poland but living at Beaupark, Clongriffin, Dublin 13 died of multiple injuries sustained in the crash on June 18th, 2014.

The incident happened at about 8pm on the Forest Road in Swords as Mr Jarlinksi left Ridgewood estate and turned right in the direction of Dublin Airport.

He accelerated the motorcycle, a 1,000cc Yamaha, and lost control almost immediately.

Dublin Coroner’s Court heard the wheelie was not a deliberate act but a result of rapid burst of acceleration after Mr Jarlinksi left the junction and turned on to the Forest Road.

"The biker opened the throttle and took off at speed," witness Gerry Kane said.

Motorist Cillian O’Driscoll was driving behind the biker.

“He was revving the bike, I got the impression he was impatient. He took the right turn and accelerated excessively,” Mr O’Driscoll said. The front wheel left the road for less than a second, Mr O’Driscoll said.

“The sound was very loud. When the wheel hit the ground it was a battle to regain control...The rear of the bike began to fishtail. He lost control for about 25 yards before hitting the ditch,” Mr O’Driscoll said.

PSV inspector Garda Alan Quinn said the motorbike was "a very powerful road version of a race bike".

Dr Ger Bury, a resident of Ridgewood happened upon the crash on his way from work. He said he shared a joke with Mr Jarlinski, who was conscious and alert but had sustained an "obvious pelvic fracture".

An ambulance arrived at 8.15pm but Mr Jarlinksi suffered a cardiac arrest on arrival at Beaumont Hospital where efforts to save his life failed.

The cause of death was traumatic pelvic, abdominal and thoracic injuries. There was no evidence of drugs or alcohol in Mr Jarlinski’s blood.

The deceased's best friend Marcin Kandler said he was an experienced motorcyclist and Garda Edward Davin said "even top level sports people can get caught out like this".

The jury returned a verdict of misadventure.