Monday 5 September 2011 A Fatal RTC

On my way into town on my first trip I had a feeling something was wrong. There were more people than usual at the Waterside stop and at the YMCA stop. When I stopped at The Leisure Centre and loaded the bus I had almost a full load. One of the people who didn't get on the bus asked if I knew when the next 12 was coming. This suggested there was a problem somewhere. Usually By the time I get to the Big Tree our 501 service from Galmpton is coming up behind me. If it is I let it get in front of me as it leaves the stand at 09:55 and I go 5 minutes later. But there was no sign of the bus. When I got to the stand in Torbay Rd I began to wonder what the problem was. Then at 5 to ten the other bus turned up 10 minutes late. The driver told me that the road had been closed by the police at Windy Corner. This is a problem for me as my route takes me out towards Windy Corner but I turn down Broadsands Rd just before the Zebra Crossing at Windy Corner. The road was set to be closed for 4 to 5 hours which suggested a serious RTC. When I got to the bottom of Cherry Brook there was a road closed sign and a policeman directing traffic up Cherry Brook. I spoke to him and he said I could get down Broadsands as the main road was closed just passed the junction. When I got to the junction I could see a motor scooter on it's side. It had hit the pole supporting the left-hand belisha beacon at the Zebra Crossing outside Squire's Restaurant. Plenty of police cars were also present but the ambulance had gone by then. The road remained closed until about 2:30. Accident investigators were there for 5 hours taking measurements.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: "From initial inquiries it would appear that there are no other vehicles involved, although a full investigation is ongoing.

"Officers would like to hear from anyone who was driving along Dartmouth Road and either witnessed the collision or saw the motorcycle prior to the incident."

I later heard that the rider, John Manley, aged 74, from Brixham had been taken to Torbay Hospital but had died from his injuries. Our Condolences go to his family and friends.