Tragic crash prompt friends to think bike safe

FRIENDS and family of a young motorcyclist who died earlier this year in a head-on crash are launching a new road safety campaign to encourage other teenagers to be more safety conscious driving on country roads.

Steven Lake, from Thompson, near Thetford, was just 18 years old when he died on May 1 in the crash with a taxi on the B1110 Watton Road near Merton having misjudged a bend.

Friends Ellen Dawson and Georgia Keen have teamed up with Steven's brother Daniel to produce a short documentary looking at the impact a sudden death can have on those closest to them.

They contacted ITV Fixers, a project of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust which challenges young people to identify an issue of concern and give them practical help and guidance to 'fix' the problem. It also has support from v, the national young volunteers' charity.

The group were able to get contributions from the police and record extracts from a poem written by 19-year-old Georgia describing the emotions she felt on losing her friend.

She said: 'Steven loved his bike, he was always happy when he was on it. We always thought he was invincible. It is so sad he died at 18 - he had so much to give.

'The main message I want to get out of the Fix is that people aren't invincible. These things can happen to you.'

The first segments of the film were shown on Anglia News on Wednesday night and the group has some more filming planned after the New Year. When it is completed they plan to take it into schools and colleges as part of a presentation on the dangers of motorbikes and cars especially in the hands of those in rural areas who are often desperate for mobility and freedom.

Margo Horsley, ITV Fixers executive producer, said the project was about young people finding a language to express themselves whilst at the same time making a difference to someone else.

Daniel Lake said: 'If it stops one family going through what our family has been through then it will be worth it.'