A motorcyclist who died after falling from his bike in Kidlington was said to have lost control when he took a corner too fast.

Blood and urine tests run by a pathologist following his death showed Eduardo De Souza Tostes, 31, of Orchard Road, Botley, was over the drink-drive limit.

Although he had a driving licence, he was not licensed to operate the Kawasaki ZR900 motorcycle he was using. The bike was insured but he was not one of those named on the insurance policy.

The Brazilian tiler’s inquest heard on Wednesday that Mr Tostes was on the black Kawasaki on the A4620 Frieze Way when he lost control of the bike as he approached the Loop Farm Roundabout at the junction with the A44 at around 5.20pm on July 3.

Richard Harvey, who was driving with his daughter, told the police that he saw the bike ‘coming around the corner behind me’.

“I don’t know what speed it was travelling at [but] it was shockingly quick,” he said in a statement read by assistant coroner Gemma Brannigan.

The bike was initially in the outside lane of the dual carriageway. The machine appeared to bank over to the right before crossing into the inside lane then hitting the crash barrier.

After ‘half a second’, the bike flipped – throwing the rider from it.

Mr Harvey said he stopped his vehicle and called 999. His daughter went to help another motorist – a teacher – who had also stopped.

An off-duty fireman, Marcus Evans, who was riding his own motorcycle with his girlfriend as a pillion passenger told the police he had been doing around 55mph when he was passed by Mr Tostes’ Kawasaki.

The firefighter heard the bike’s ‘high pitched noise’ coming from behind him.

“Based on the sound the bike was making I knew it was coming quickly,” he said.

“The motorbike flew past us in lane two. The bike was going at some pace and in my opinion [at] almost 100mph, based on the speed that we were travelling at.”

When they caught up with the bike, the couple could see the rider was seriously injured.

He was initially speaking, but fell unconscious after a few minutes. Another motorist, a teacher, began CPR while the firefighter kept Mr Tostes’ airway clear.

Paramedics were swiftly on the scene and took over resuscitation attempts. Sadly, these were not successful and the rider was pronounced dead at the roadside.

A post-mortem found that Mr Tostes had suffered multiple internal injuries. Blood and urine tests showed he was slightly over the legal drink-driving limit.

Recording a conclusion of road traffic death, assistant coroner Ms Brannigan said: “I do not know what Mr Tostes’ individual tolerance to alcohol was.

“I do not know what happened upon the road or whether he was required to react to something.

“As a result, I am not able to say positively that the alcohol level contributed to the incident.”

She expressed her condolences to Mr Tostes’ family, who followed the inquest with the help of an interpreter.

For support, contact the Samaritans by calling 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward