'It's a comfort to know he wasn't alone': Family's gratitude to strangers who sat with dying biker

Dave McCreadie was on his black KTM 1290 Superduke when it was involved in a collision with a silver Ford Focus on the B4380 Emstrey Bank, towards Atcham, at around 5.12pm last Friday.

Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the 45-year-old from Broseley, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Following the crash, Dave's mother, brother and two sisters have said the actions of two strangers who sat with the father of two as he lay dying has given them “comfort” to know that Dave was not alone.

Dave's brother, Alex McCreadie, said the kind actions of the two good Samaritans only became apparent when he visited the scene on Tuesday.

He said: “I went up on Sunday and saw a lot of tributes from Dave's 'biker family' – he had been a member of two bike clubs: The Lost Boys and Midlands Riders and was part of a wider community of bikers, and they had been up and left tributes. Salop Leisure were also flying their flags at half mast.

“Then I went up with by brother-in-law on Tuesday and there were more flowers but we found this note among them.”

The note was from Lorna Harding and her daughter Cari from Admaston near Telford, who were travelling along the A5 at the time of the incident.

While the pair did not witness the collision, they explained in their note that despite not knowing his name, they had sat with Dave following his crash, holding his hand while efforts were made to save his life, and were with him at the end when he sadly succumbed to his injuries.

Wanting to personally thank the pair, Alex appealed to find them on Facebook, and managed to track Lorna down.

“She explained that there was also a local GP there who had stopped, a local resident, and a couple of staff from Salop Leisure,” said Alex. “It is such a comfort to the family to know Dave was not alone and they were there. It must have been very traumatic for them too, but with everything that is going on in the world, it goes to show you that there are still good people out there.”

He said his brother was “very popular” and will be greatly missed by the family, who had been left “heartbroken” by his death, but he added that he believes the road where his brother died – a notorious accident black spot – needed to be changed.

“I had told him so many times to get rid of that bike but he never would. But the road layout there is dangerous," Alex said. "When he came off that island, it goes from two lanes down to one, and it is a 60mph speed limit where the accident happened, so if a bike is coming and a car is turning right, they're not going to see it at that speed. It needs changing."

A funeral is expected to take place next month. The family has asked for any donations to be sent to the Broseley First Responders.

Following the collision last Friday, a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of causing dangerous driving and was later bailed pending further enquiries.

West Mercia Police is also appealing for witnesses to the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the collision or may have dash cam footage of it is asked to contact PC Mark Hobden on 07870 219721 or email mark.hobden@westmercia.police.uk quoting incident number 352i of June 21.

A Justgiving page has also been set up by the biker community to raise money for the McCreadie family. If you wish to donate, you can find it at: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Dave-Mccreadie