Biker faces jail after crash killed brother-in-law

A motorcyclist badly hurt in a high-speed road crash which left his brother-in-law dead is facing jail for dangerous driving.

A trial heard Lewis Baker, 35, and Jason Wallis, 31, were riding at over 100mph when they crashed their two Yamaha R1 bikes into a car on the A421 at Tingewick, near Buckingham, on 9 September 2023.

Wallis died at the scene. Baker, who broke a thigh bone, has been found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving, but had admitted dangerous driving.

Judge Jonathan Cooper said there was a "strong likelihood" Baker, from Milton Keynes, would be jailed when sentenced on 1 July and he would also "consider carefully" whether to impose a driving ban for life.

At Tuesday's hearing at Aylesbury Crown Court, the judge described Baker's riding on the dual carriageway as a "complete horror" and said Wallis, also from Milton Keynes, had made a "vast contribution" to his own death.

Prosecuting barrister David Jones said the two men had been riding for 40 minutes at speeds of 130mph-150mph.

Jones said evidence showed the two men were "drag racing" and argued that 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 "there was no racing" but his client had ridden "like a lunatic".

He said Wallis was a "far better" and "far more experienced" rider than Baker and that the defendant had "no influence" on how Wallis rode.

Baker had filmed the journey and Wallis's crash on a GoPro camera attached to his body, jurors heard.

Footage was played at the trial.

Jurors heard that Wallis hit a Renault while trying to undertake - and Baker hit the car while trying to overtake.

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

Nikki Wallis, also a motorcyclist, 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 he was not always a sensible rider when on the road.

"We used to argue when we went out riding because he was always doing something stupid," she said.

"If he had just listened to me and stopped... undertaking cars, he would never have crashed."

She described her late husband as a "wild spirit" who was "just an accident waiting to happen".

Baker, who has no previous convictions, has been released on bail pending sentence, but the judge imposed a condition barring him from driving or riding on public roads

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