Lewis Ward died on Birchington Road in Middlesbrough

Lewis Ward, 22, from Eston, Middlesbrough, died in James Cook Hospital three days after he was knocked off an e-bike on Birchington Avenue, Middlesbrough on October 6, 2022.

At an inquest into Mr Ward's death, held on Monday (November 25) at Teesside Coroners Court, it was heard that he suffered a blunt head injury and was 'catapulted into the air' during the crash, which happened at around 10.30pm.

Following the incident, Cleveland Police launched a murder investigation and four people were arrested. 

Middlesbrough Town Hall (Image: CLEVELAND POLICE) But no charges were ever brought against any of the four suspects in the case, with the police force confirming in early 2023 that no further action would be taken against anyone for the crash.

During the hearing on Monday, the coroner's court heard from several witnesses, including the driver of the car that was involved in the fatal crash, Reece White, as well as police officers and detectives who investigated the crash in 2022.

In his testimony, Mr White said he didn't see Mr Ward and his friend Stephen Kemp on e-bikes on the evening in question. When questioned by the legal representative of Mr Ward's family, he denied that the incident was intentional. 

Mr White left the scene of the fatal crash before returning 15 minutes later and admitted to the inquest that he "panicked" with the situation. He told the inquest that he tried to veer and brake out of the way of Mr Ward before colliding with the e-bike. 

It was also noted during the hearing that Mr White and Mr Ward knew each other before the incident - and shared mutual friends before relationships soured between members of the group. 

During the fatal crash, Mr White, who was travelling in a VW Golf, was carrying two friends in the car - who had "limited recollection" of the collision and also fled the scene following the incident.

Middlesbrough Town Hall (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) After he returned to the scene, Mr White said that it "felt like a blur" and was "over in seconds" and remembered seeing Mr Ward's mum holding her son in her arms.

Mr White also said in the inquest that Mr Ward "came from nowhere" and he had "little time to react".

A witness statement was read out to the court on behalf of Stephen Kemp, who was on another bike next to Mr Ward on the evening of the fatal collision.

He highlighted that there was "trouble" between Mr Ward and several of the passengers in the car, which had taken place in the months before the crash.

Later in the inquest, the court heard from PC Adrian Downing, who is a forensic collision investigator and looked into the VW Golf and e-bike involved in the crash. 

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During his investigation, PC Downing noted that CCTV obtained just before the crash pinpointed that the car was doing 'about' 37mph, Mr Ward was wearing dark clothing on the e-bike, but the front light was 'illuminated' just before the fatal collision.

When giving an overview of his evidence, PC Downing said that the e-bike that Mr Ward was on wasn't built for UK roads and was an off-road vehicle and also noted that brake marks consistent with a driver trying to avoid collision "wasn't evident" at the scene.

Recording her verdict on Monday, assistant coroner of Teesside and Hartlepool, Karin Walsh, said that Mr Ward had died as a result of a road traffic collision, but highlighted that the speed of Mr White and the "lack of effective breaking" were factors in his death. 

After the inquest concluded, Mr Ward's family didn't speak - but have paid tribute previously, saying that Lewis was a "much-loved son, brother, uncle and friend to many".