Harrison Wilkinson, a 22-year-old British singer and songwriter, was coming to the end of a fortnight’s holiday with his girlfriend, Ella Greenwood, when he flew off the bike in the Danang area of Central Vietnam.
An inquest at Bradford Coroner’s Court heard Harrison sustained traumatic head injuries and was taken to hospital in Ho Chi Minh City but medics were unable to save his life. The court heard it was unclear what the object was.
Ella, a talented jazz pianist from Longwood also suffered injuries to her arms. She is now safely back in the UK.
Following Harrison’s death earlier this month his parents, Sam and Andrew Wilkinson of Lowerhouses told media how their eldest son was about to start a new job as a community support worker with Mencap, (a charity for people with mental disabilities), in Huddersfield.
Sam told media after his death: “One of his friends who came to see us said Harrison was wanting to do a festival for homeless people and we didn’t know anything about it. He just loved reaching out to people and trying to help them. He was much happier trying to solve other people’s problems rather than his own.”
According to WHO, approximately 14,000 people lose their lives in Vietnam each year as a result of road traffic crashes. Motorcyclists account for a high proportion (approximately 59%) of the road traffic collisions in the country. The majority of death and injuries on the roads are among those aged between 15 and 49 years – the group that makes up 56% of total population, and most economically active group.
WHO estimates that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for those aged 15-29 years in Vietnam. According to the recently published WHO Global status report on road safety, many of Vietnam’s existing road safety laws are either not comprehensive in their scope, or are poorly enforced. Vietnam is one of ten countries included in the WHO Road Safety in 10 countries project which will be conducted over 5-years by a consortium of six international partners.