INQUEST HEARS FATAL CRASH WAS CAUSED BY RIDER BEING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD

An inquest into the death of German scooterist Mattias Klabis, who died during the Isle of Wight Scooter Rally 2 years ago, heard how he was driving on the wrong side of the road at the time of impact. 51-year-old Mattias had travelled from Hamburg, Germany to participate in the annual Scooter Rally, but tragically didn’t return home. He died on 25th August 2022 following a collision between his Lambretta and a blue Citroen C3 on Newport Road, Apse Heath. Initially, a 36-year-old woman from Ventnor was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. She was subsequently released under investigation, with Police later dropping the case altogether – as reported by Island Echo earlier this week. Investigations have concluded that Mr Kladbis was on the wrong side of the road when the crash occurred, perhaps having forgotten to drive on the left hand side of the carriageway when in the United Kingdom. Mr Klabis had only just left his campsite at Sandown Airport when he came head-to-head with the C3 travelling towards Lake from Apse Heath. Mattias has previously been described as a fantastic engineer and welder with a sharp humour and a vision for taking his scooters to another level. He leaves behind a wife and 2 sons. Coroner Caroline Sumeray recorded the death as being a result of a road traffic collision, which caused multiple traumatic injuries.