Judge looks for best way of banning 178 mph biker

A judge is trying to find the best way of protecting people from a motorcyclist who crashed on a dual carriageway after riding at 178 mph (286 km/h).

Mechanic Lewis Baker, 35, was badly hurt in the crash at Tingewick, Buckinghamshire, and his brother-in-law, Jason Wallis, 31, who was riding another bike alongside him, died.

Baker, who has appeared at hearings in Aylesbury Crown Court, has admitted dangerous driving and Judge Jonathan Cooper said he is planning to impose a 15-month jail sentence.

But the judge has yet to decide on the length of a driving ban and said he wanted a penalty which might allow Baker to drive a car before he could ride a motorbike.

Judge Cooper heard how Baker, of Tadmarton, Downhead Park, Milton Keynes, and Wallis, of Browns Wood, Milton Keynes, crashed their two 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 had filmed their 40-minute journey, and Wallis's crash, on a GoPro camera attached to his helmet. Footage has been played at a hearing.

The judge was told evidence indicated that Baker was travelling at 120 mph (193.12 km/h) when the two riders crashed.

The judge said, when overseeing the latest hearing on Wednesday, that a standard driving ban would bar Baker from driving a car and riding a motorbike for the same period.

He has asked lawyers representing the prosecution and Baker to consider ways of keeping him from riding a motorbike for a longer time.

Judge Cooper said one possibility might be making Baker the subject of a serious crime prevention order which would bar him from riding a motorcycle.

The judge remanded Baker, who has no previous convictions, in custody pending sentence.

Baker had, in June, been cleared of causing Wallis's death by dangerous driving after a trial in Aylesbury Crown Court.

Prosecuting barrister David Jones said the two men had been riding for 40 minutes at high speeds.

He said the GoPro evidence showed Baker had reached 178 mph (286 km/h).

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

He suggested both riders had encouraged each other to drive dangerously.

Barrister James Smith-Wilds, for Baker, told jurors that "there was no racing" but said his client had ridden "like a lunatic".

He said Wallis, an engineer who worked for Nissan, 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 Baker's sister, was called as a defence witness.

Also a motorcyclist, she said her husband and brother had been "best friends".

She said her husband had been an experienced motorcyclist who took part in track riding.

But she told jurors that he was a "wild spirit" and "just an accident waiting to happen".

Wallis's mother, Sharon Gannon, 56, of Brooklands, Milton Keynes, told the BBC outside court how the accident had left her "devastated".

Gannon said her son had a "good heart and a quiet strength" and "would help anyone".

"My son had ridden motorbikes since the tender age of seven and was a fully skilled and a highly competent rider," said Gannon.

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

Judge Cooper is due to pass sentence on 10 July.

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