Biker who hit 178mph before fatal crash is jailed

A motorcyclist who reached 178mph (286km/h) before a crash which killed his brother-in-law has been jailed for 15 months.

Mechanic Lewis Baker, 35, was badly hurt in the crash at Tingewick, Buckinghamshire, in 2023. Jason Wallis, 31, who was riding alongside him, died.

Baker admitted dangerous driving and was also given a 10-year driving ban at Aylesbury Crown Court.

Judge Jonathan Cooper told him: "The place for driving at extremely high speed is a race track and not the public road."

Baker, of Tadmarton in Downhead Park, Milton Keynes, and Wallis, of Browns Wood, Milton Keynes, crashed their identical Yamaha R1 bikes into a car they were trying to pass on the A421 on 9 September 2023.

Wallis was trying to undertake and Baker, who broke a thigh bone, was trying to overtake.

Baker filmed their 40-minute journey and Wallis's subsequent crash on a GoPro camera attached to his helmet.

The judge was told how camera evidence indicated that Baker hit a top speed of 178mph and was travelling at 120mph (193km/h) when the two riders crashed.

The judge said Baker's riding was "as bad as it could be".

He said Baker had "flipped" round his number plate, so it could not be easily detected, and was riding in a way "designed to avoid detection".

Cooper said Wallis met his death when riding in "exactly the same" fashion as Baker.

Baker had told police that he had ridden in a similar fashion about "100 times" before, the judge heard.

Prosecuting barrister David Jones said Baker had no previous convictions - and appeared to have had a clean licence.

In June, Baker was cleared of causing Wallis's death by dangerous driving after a trial.

Jones argued that the two men were "drag racing" and said Baker's dangerous riding had contributed to Wallis's death.

Barrister James Smith-Wilds, for Baker, said "there was no racing".

He said Wallis, an engineer who worked for Nissan in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, was a "far better" and "far more experienced" rider - and Baker had "no influence" on how Wallis rode.

Wallis's widow, Nikki Wallis, who is also Baker's sister, was called as a defence witness during the trial.

Nikki Wallis said her husband and brother had been "best friends".

She said her husband was an experienced motorcyclist, but told jurors that he was "just an accident waiting to happen".

Wallis's mother, Sharon Gannon, told the BBC outside court how the accident had left her "devastated".

"The day he died, my world changed forever," Gannon said.

"I feel as though I am living in a nightmare from which I cannot wake."

Gannon said her son had ridden motorbikes since he was seven and was a "fully skilled and a highly competent rider".

"Throughout his life he demonstrated exceptional responsibility and capability on the road," she said.

"He had never received a criminal conviction, a dangerous driving offence, or even a fine.

"His record reflected the seriousness with which he approached both riding and personal responsibility."

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